Recently, significant investments have been made by India in the field of Directed Energy Weapons.
Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs)
- DEWs are ranged weapons that use concentrated energy from electromagnetic or particle technology, rather than kinetic energy, to incapacitate, damage, disable or destroy enemy equipment, facilities, and/or personnel.
- DEWs expand the range of electronic warfare.
- Electronic warfare includes any strategic use of the electromagnetic spectrum against an enemy in a military conflict.
How do DEWs Work?
- DEWs emit electromagnetic energy at the speed of light, using different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum to penetrate various materials based on their wavelength.
- Their power output is significantly higher than everyday devices (like household microwaves), enabling them to disrupt or destroy targets effectively.
Applications of DEWs
- Military Defense
- Law Enforcement and Border Security
- Space Operations
Types of Directed Energy Weapons
- High Energy Lasers (HEL): Use highly concentrated light to destroy targets.
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- HELs with a power of 100 kW can engage smaller targets like Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), while 1 MW lasers could neutralize ballistic and hypersonic missiles.
- Employed for fast-moving individual targets at a greater range
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- High Power Microwaves (HPMs): Emit high-frequency electromagnetic waves to damage electronic systems and incapacitate personnel
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- Employed for widespread targets (Shorter range than HEL)
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- Millimeter waves: Use wavelengths between 1 and 10 millimeters. Applications include non-lethal military applications including non-lethal military applications like crowd control.
- Particle Beam Weapons: Use accelerated particles (protons or electrons) to inflict damage.
Steps taken by India for DEWs
- Directionally Unrestricted Ray-Gun Array (DURGA)-II Project: Initiated by Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) to build 100-kilowatt lightweight DEW.
- 2kW DEW System: Developed by Bharat electronic limited for countering new threats like drones and Unmanned Aerial Systems.
- Laser Science and Technology Centre (LASTEC): Laboratory of DRDO developing direct energy weapons, called project Tri-Netra.
- Kilo Ampere Linear Injector (KALI): It is a linear electron accelerator for targeting long-range missiles being developed by DRDO and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) .
Examples of DEWs across the globe
- USA: HEL with Integrated Optical-Dazzler and Surveillance (HELIOS), High Energy Laser Weapon System (HELWS), Tactical High Power Microwave Operational Responder (THOR) etc.
- United Kingdom: DragonFire laser directed energy weapon (LDEW)
- Israel: ‘Iron Beam‘, a laser-based interception system.
- Russia, France, Germany, China etc. are also reportedly among countries which have programmes to develop DEWs or Laser DEWs.