Directed energy weapons (DEWs), like high-energy lasers and high-powered microwaves, will become strategic game-changers in the not-too-distant a future. DRDO was working on laser-based DEWs, which can disable missiles without debris.
DRDO/BARC's KALI (Kilo Ampere Linear Injector) is a directed-energy weapon designed to work in such a way that if an enemy missile is launched towards India, it will quickly emit powerful pulses of Relativistic Electron Beam (REB) and destroy the target.
In contrast, the ASAT or anti-satellite missile that the DRDO tested on March 27, killed an orbiting Indian target satellite and left hundreds of small pieces as debris for a few months.
The DRDO's Hyderabad-based lab, Centre for High Energy Systems and Sciences (CHESS) is the node for all related activities. In February 2014 the government sanctioned Rs 115 crore for development of "experimental technology modules for directed energy laser systems" by CHESS.
DRDO has an ongoing development of a 10-kilowatt DEW against UAV like targets, with "the establishment of critical technologies of precision tracking/pointing and laser beam combination". The "system" has been tested up to a range of 800 meters at CHESS.
Development of DEWs and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapons has been identified as a top-priority area in the 15-year "technology perspective and capability roadmap" chalked out by the defence ministry.
But the real challenge will be in achieving the declared aim to develop solid-state laser DEWs for aircraft and warships, which can destroy enemy ballistic missiles in their "boost phase itself.".
The DRDO's Laser Science & Technology Centre is working on an array of systems from "chemical oxygen iodine lasers" to "high-power fiber lasers" for strategic uses, which includes a 25-kilowatt laser to take on a ballistic missile du-ring its "terminal phase" at a distance of 5-7 km.
Current megawatt-class systems emphasize free-electron and diode-pumped alkali laser technologies. Recent developments in solid-state and fiber lasers, designed primarily for tactical engagement, feature lower-power systems tailored for forward-deployable platforms. They effectively meet technical challenges including power-scaling, beam quality and thermal management and packaging for use on appropriate operational platforms.
