LW-30 Silent Hunter
Low Altitude Laser Defending System (LASS)
China's Poly Technologies defence marketing company used the IDEX show in Abu Dhabi from 19-23 February 2017 to reveal its Silent Hunter fibre-optic laser air defence system. The system adopts fiber laser. With output power of 30KW, Silent Hunter can burn through five-layer of 2mm steel plates at 800m, or 5mm steel plates at 1000m, which is perfect for thin metal or composite drone wings.
The system was used to help defend the 4-5 September 2016 G-20 Summit in Hangzhou, China, and is a more advanced version of its Low Altitude Laser Defending System (LASS) that was displayed later that month at the AAD defence show in South Africa. LASS has a maximum power of 30 kw and a range of 4,000 m. A Poly official said the Silent Hunter is capable of power levels greater than 30 kw, but less than 100 kw. LASS is designed to defend against large numbers of slow unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In its fixed and mobile versions, Silent Hunter comprises a separate medium-truck size power unit and a similar sized equipment unit for the laser. Poly officials said that Silent Hunter is too heavy to develop into an airborne laser as currently configured.
China showcased an anti-drone laser weapon at an exhibition, as experts said on 29 May 2018 that the weapon could empower counter-terrorism efforts. China's Poly Technologies Inc displayed Silent Hunter at the May 23-26 V International Exhibition of Weapons Systems and Military Equipment (KADEX 2018) in Kazakhstan last week, according to a statement released by the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence on its website.
More than 400 companies from 55 countries and regions participated in KADEX, one of the most influential weaponry exhibitions in the Central Asia region, according to the statement. There was a massive demand for China's tactical laser weapons on the international market from police and military customers, Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times.
The technology of fiber laser has a lot of advantages, such as low capital cost, mature technology, quick heat dissipation, low loss, high stability, maintenance-free, multi-bands, green environmental protection, etc. It is quite friendly to our country with developed optical fiber technology, and there is a good environment adaptability, high tolerance to dust, oscillation, impact, humidity and temperature, and very durable.
The cost of a suicide drone in the Middle East is very low and with a camera and a small bomb tied on model airplane, can conduct low-altitude penetration. It can be manufactured and flown in large quantities to strike various military bases and oil refineries. A few thousand dollars can cause millions of dollars of damage to the enemy, but the application of laser weapons can greatly reduce such losses. The royal Saudi air defense forces bought this Silent Hunter laser weapon from China to deal with such cheap drones, which successfully and completely destroyed intercepted 13 suicide drones. The actual combat has proved the laser weapon is very reliable. For the hundreds of dollars anti-aircraft missiles, the laser weapon are highly lethal against these low-altitude suicide drones.
Silent Hunter can be deployed either by police for counter-terrorism or by the military for air defense, he noted. The laser weapon in question can intercept low-altitude, slow-speed and small aerial targets including drones. The weapon system's strong anti-jamming capability, high accuracy and low cost also played to its advantage, Song said.
With the fast development of unmanned aircraft technology, drones are easier to obtain and are capable of carrying payloads, providing tools for criminals and terrorists to commit crimes or launch terror attacks. Silent Hunter helps police intercept drones. As a tactical laser weapon, it can also be used by air defense forces whether on stationary or moving vehicles or naval vessels, Song explained.
During the 2016 G20 Summit in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, Silent Hunter was deployed to provide aerial safety, UK-based Jane's Defence Weekly reported in February 2017. "China has a long history of developing tactical laser weapons," Song said. "They are the focus of future weapon development of the People's Liberation Army." They will play an important role, especially in anti-missile, anti-satellite and air defense, he said.
The "Silent Hunter" laser anti-aircraft weapon output power is 30 kilowatts and its maximum range is 4 kilometers. It can burn through five layers of 2 mm thick steel plates at a distance of 800 meters, and can burn through 5 mm thick steel plates at a distance of 1000 meters. "Silent Hunter" is mainly used to search, track, intercept and destroy low-altitude drones. During the process, "Silent Hunter" has a very fast response speed and has a high interception rate for multiple targets. During the interception process, the target conversion can be completed in 6 seconds, and the cost of each interception is less than 1 dollar, which is quite cost-effective.
Compared with the traditional means of defense against drones, using laser cannons to attack drones, especially small swarm drones, can be described as "defeating magic with magic". Because, defending against drone attacks is indeed a fairly complex problem, and there are many different methods that can be used to defend against drone attacks. There are traditional anti-aircraft guns + missiles, laser cannons, electronic interference, and even physical direct capture. What's more, there are studies on the use of raptors, that is, animals such as falcons to capture and intercept of. Saudi Arabia was hit by drone raids on oil refining and oil depot facilities at Ras Tanura port in 2019, halving national oil production and destroying thousands of tons of crude in fires.
At that time, Saudi Arabia mainly used the American "Patriot" air defense missile system, but the "Patriot" did not show the ability to intercept incoming drones. Therefore, Saudi Arabia turned its attention to China. The "Silent Hunter" laser cannon system was the first weapon purchased by Saudi Arabia, mainly for positional UAV interception of oil facilities and important government sites. Laser weapon anti-UAV is mainly aimed at "low, slow and small" targets with a flying altitude of less than 1000 meters, a speed of less than 200 kilometers per hour, and an RCS reflection cross section of less than 1 square meter. This is also the advantage of drones, which are naturally a headache for the air defense system. Traditional anti-aircraft weapons are difficult to find and intercept. Because the air defense radar is mainly designed for large combat aircraft, the ammunition equipped is also designed to strike medium and high-speed large manned aircraft, and the smallest is a target such as a cruise missile. In the face of small drones, it is likely to "can't see, hear, or shoot".
At the Saudi Air Show in March 2022, Saudi Arabia announced for the first time that it had shot down multiple enemy drones in actual combat using the "Silent Hunter" laser weapon, which aroused widespread concern from all parties. It is believed that with the blessing of such weapons, the performance of the anti-drone system with Chinese characteristics will become stronger and stronger.
According to the US defense media "Tactical Report" on 21 December 2022, the Saudi Ministry of Defense is following up on the defense agreement signed at the Zhuhai Air Show in 2022 and conducting additional investigations on the products displayed during the exhibition. According to US media reports, the Saudi Ministry of Defense is planning to start negotiations on the possible purchase of China's anti-drone laser weapon system (LWS). This should also be part of Saudi Arabia's $4 billion arms order in Zhuhai. This is undoubtedly the greatest affirmation of China's anti-drone laser weapon system. Saudi Arabia has previously equipped China's "Silent Hunter" laser cannon system, and destroyed 13 incoming drones at one time in actual combat. Since the initial use is good, it will naturally continue to purchase.
China's "anti-drone system" can effectively coordinate the use of various detection equipment and interception weapons, and also has "target detection, command and control, and interception defense", which is a combination of three major elements. This complete anti-drone system can form a comprehensive defense capability against various types of unmanned aerial vehicles, "considering both near and far, matching high and low, and combining soft and hard damage".
Silent Hunter laser weapon system has provided four power modes, which are 5kW, 10kW, 20kW and 30kW. The interception radius increases from 200m to 4000, and the range of target acquisition is over 4000m, which can intercept targets within 2m in diameter and flight speed of less than 60 m/s. The low-altitude laser air-defense system has two versions, which are vehicle-mounted mobile and stationary. The vehicle-mounted can be installed on a 6X6 wheeled chassis while the stationary can be separated into independent parts of up to 200kg each for easy transportation or mounted on top of a building.
The 13th edition of China's largest aviation exhibition Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition (Airshow China) 2018 in Zhuhai near Hong Kong, November 6-11, had a prototype of the LW-30 anti-aircraft laser system. The state-owned company China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) presented its solutions in the field of, among others, anti-aircraft artillery and missile systems, including the short-range and medium-range FK-1000 set known to the car chassis from 2014, equipped with twelve two-stage KS-1000 missiles.
However, the prototype of the LW-30 anti-aircraft laser system, based on the modified Wanshan WS2250 6x6 family, developed by Hubei Sanjiang Space Wanshan Special Vehicle and being a copy of the American Oshkosh HEMTT (Heavy Expand Mobility Tactical Truck) vehicles were more interesting. It is worth noting that the Americans had recently tested on the 8x8 chassis the HELMTT (High Energy Laser Mobile Test Truck) laser system with 10-50 kW power.
According to the disclosed information, the LW-30 system consists of a command and communication vehicle, a combat vehicle with a laser system effector and support vehicles. According to the designation, the laser power of an unknown type is 30 kW. Based on the published photograph, it can be concluded that the set consists of a tracking system, an optoelectronic head and probably power and cooling systems placed in a container.
The system was developed for the destruction of military and commercial unmanned aircraft, light, manned aircraft, missiles, artillery and mortar (C-RAM), as well as to incapacitate sensors for photoelectric guidance devices (night vision devices, thermal imaging sights, etc.) . LW-30 is characterized by high precision and long-lasting work of the laser beam. The effective fire range is currently 25 km, although the tests had not been completed and the target parameter values had not been achieved.
LW-30 is not the first system of this type developed and tested in China. At the beginning of December 2017, the domestic company GuoRong Technology presented a video recording, on which a mobile laser set mounted on the chassis of a civilian Isuzu Elf truck, smote a commercial DJI Phantom 3 type binary from a distance of about 1 km using a several-watt laser beam. The system burned a small hole in the bsl that fell to the ground as a result of damage.
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