Boeing’s truck-mounted laser cannon blasts drones out of the sky using an Xbox controller

Laser cannons have long been fancied by both militaries and super-villains. Mounting such a weapon atop a shark is a guaranteed way to intimidate those invading your secret lair, but unfortunately, serves no practical purpose in combat. Instead, what has proven its combat potential is the HEL-MD, High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator, a truck with a mounted laser cannon built by Boeing for the U.S. Army. Recently, the weaponized vehicle obliterated 150 different targets including drones and 60mm mortar shells.

 
HEL-MD is the army’s first mobile, high-energy laser, Counter Rocket, Artillery and Mortar (C-RAM) platform capable of tracking and shooting down a slew of targets out of the sky – not just on a sunny, clear afternoon – but on the windy, rainy, and foggy conditions of maritime Florida, conditions normally deemed bad-for-lasers.
 
The combination between high-powered laser and the Oshkosh tactical vehicle, to which it is mounted, makes the system extremely well suited for mobile defense. Boeing has been working on the $36 million contract for the greater part of a decade. Since the tracking system has proven capable of “hitting” 150 different targets, the 10-kilowatt laser will now be upgraded with a concentrated 50-60 kilowatt beam for use against live artillery, mortar strikes, UAV drones, and incoming rockets; however, it will take another few years before the cannon is deployed in combat.

 
Worth noting is the fact that foggy and rainy weather are detrimental to lasers, yet Boeing’s HEL-MD has no issue hitting targets. How exactly this is accomplished remains a trade secret, although it can be speculated that the guidance system probably uses a reference laser beam to probe through the inclement weather and collect data, before a computer analyzes how the conditions distorted the beam. Next, the HEL-MD’s optics may refocus the beam back into its original shape based on the amount of deviation. 

The HEL-MD’s lasers are powered by lithium ion batteries which are recharged by diesel generator, so as long as the fuel tank remains full, HEL-MD will never stop pew-pewing. Targets are identified using a telescope and an infrared-based, wide-angle camera, and an operator shoots it down using a laptop and Xbox controller. This final bit may wind being a design flaw, as experienced gamers will point out that aiming at things with reticle is significantly more precise when done via mouse, rather than a gamepad. 

Source: Wired