![\"Raytheon](\"https:\/\/defence-blog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/5156205-1.jpg\")
Video posted on U.S. Defense contractor Raytheon\u2019s Twitter account, appear to show future laser weapon systems that that can stop enemy hypersonic missiles.<\/p>\n<\/u>Las armas hipers\u00f3nicas se caracterizan por su extrema velocidad y alta maniobrabilidad, que les permiten alcanzar su objetivo evadiendo los sistemas de defensa a\u00e9rea convencionales existentes, incapaces de neutralizar las nuevas amenazas. Los analistas concluyen que lo \u00fanico capaz de enfrentar los misiles hipers\u00f3nicos, ser\u00e1 un sistema interceptor tan r\u00e1pido \u201ccomo la velocidad de la luz\u201d, o sea: El Laser.<\/p>\n
Video posted on U.S. Defense contractor Raytheon\u2019s Twitter account, appear to show future laser weapon systems that that can stop enemy hypersonic missiles.<\/p>\n
Hypersonic weapons are highly maneuverable, travel many times the speed of sound, and allow for the destruction of targets anywhere in the world in less than an hour. The new generation missiles are a growing and extremely complex threat to US and allies national interests.<\/p>\n
\u201cPotential adversaries are developing sophisticated ballistic and cruise missile systems, with increased speed, range, accuracy and lethality,\u201d Undersecretary of Defense for Policy John C. Rood told last month the Senate Armed Services Committee\u2019s strategic forces subcommittee at a hearing on missile defense policies and programs.<\/strong><\/p>\n In a video statement published by Raytheon said:\u00a0\u201cWhat can catch a missile moving many times the speed of sound? An interceptor that\u2019s as fast as light. See how we\u2019re hurtling toward lasers that can stop hypersonic missiles.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n The company\u2019s website also said that Raytheon\u2019s innovators are working on world-changing technologies that push the limits of what people can do.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s laser weapons can already defeat drones, but cranking out enough photons to fry a ballistic missile would take far more power. Once engineers find a clean, practical and efficient way to produce all that power, they\u2019ll also need to focus it into an ultra-precise beam. That, in turn, takes bigger optical mirrors with coatings that withstand such a massive amount of energy. And, of course, they\u2019ll need a vehicle that can carry it all.<\/p>\n Lastly, there\u2019s the \u201cline-of-sight\u201d problem; lasers shoot perfectly straight, meaning a laser shot toward the horizon will eventually hit the Earth\u2019s curves. That\u2019s a problem when you\u2019re trying to hit a missile on the other side of the world.<\/p>\n When it comes to ballistic missile defense, \u201cyou want to get it into airborne platforms and into space,\u201d said Evan Hunt, a former U.S. Air Force navigator who now works in business development for Raytheon\u2019s high-energy laser products. \u201cIt\u2019s better to look down than to shoot up.\u201d<\/p>\n To pull it off, engineers will have to scale up the parts of laser weapons that are working today and steal from other advances in technology. Commercial markets are making leaps in power storage, Hunt said, and the military is already driving innovation in electro-optical and infrared sensors.<\/p>\n \u201cAll the other key subsystems in the laser weapon are being spurred by existing markets,\u201d Hunt said, \u201c(but) there needs to be some out-of-the-box thinking to get where MDA, the Air Force and Space Force need to go.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Laser missile interceptors could deter the development of nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n \u201cImagine you\u2019re a country that has to invest in a nuclear weapon,\u201d Hunt said, \u201cand then all of a sudden the U.S. comes out with an ability to shoot your nuclear weapon down at cents per shot. I think you could really hurt people\u2019s incentive to go that route.\u201d<\/p>\n