As shown in the scene in the classic Star Wars film, the close air duel (dogfight) between fighter planes in the future will actually use laser weapons. This is not just a figment, along with the rapid development of laser weapons on various platforms, scientists are now working on the adoption of laser weapons to be installed on fourth-generation fighter jets.
Quoted from TheDrive.com (11/7/2022), the US Air Force (USAF) has received a high-energy laser weapon that can be carried by aircraft in the form of a pod. The news comes after Lockheed Martin revealed that at least one of the weapons it developed had been delivered to the Air Force for testing.
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The project falls within the broader framework of a still-developing plan to have a laser-armed fighter jet capable of striking enemy missiles, and possibly other targets.
A report from Breaking Defense confirmed that Lockheed Martin delivered a high-energy laser weapon called the LANCE to the US Air Force last February. LANCE (Laser Advancement for Next-generation Compact Environments) was accepted by AFRL (Air Force Research Laboratory) which will develop and integrate new technologies in the air, space and cyber world.
Tyler Griffin, an executive at Lockheed Martin, previously said that the LANCE is the smallest and lightest high-energy laser Lockheed Martin has produced to date. Griffin added that the LANCE is "one-sixth the size" of the previous directed energy weapon Lockheed produced for the Army. The previous laser was part of the Robust Electric Laser Initiative program and had an output in the 60 kilowatt class.
It's not yet known what kind of power the LANCE can produce, although it will likely be under 100 kilowatts. Apart from being very small and light, the LANCE has reduced power requirements compared to other previous weapons, a major consideration for lasers in fighter aircraft is that it can be mounted within the limits of pod size.
If successful in its development, it is likely that the LANCE could be continued as a more offensively oriented laser weapon, including being able to attack enemy aircraft and drones at greater distances.
LANCE has been developed under contract since November 2017 as part of the Self-protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator (SHiELD) program. SHiELD is a collaboration that brings together Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman.
In this case Lockheed Martin provides the actual laser weapon, in the form of the LANCE, Boeing manufactures the pod that carries it, and Northrop Grumman is in charge of the beam control system that places the laser at its target — and then stores it there. Previous Lockheed Martin concepts have demonstrated a laser pod carried by the F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet.
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