Defence IQ Glossary: Directed Energy Weapon

New footage has been released of the US Navy's prototype railgun, which launches projectiles at distances of over 100 nautical miles and at speeds exceeding Mach 6.

While on the tube to work recently I noticed that the man stood in front of me was reading a military-based novel on his Kindle. The plot of the novel seemed to revolve around the debate over whether...

Dr Libor PalîŢek is Senior Scientist at the Czech Republic’s VOP CZ. Dr PalîŢek has been working in the field of high power electromagnetic effects on electronic systems for over a d...

Advancements in Directed Energy Systems has never moved beyond the theory of the laboratory in recent years, however, 2011 saw progression in these technologies and 2012 will no doubt see the first us...

In November Rheinmetall shot down a low-altitude unmanned UAV with a 10kW laser, marking the first time the company had done so with its directed energy weapon integrated with a full air defence syste...

The last line of defence for warships worldwide is the Close in Weapon System (CIWS) (pronounced ‘seewiz’). CIWS designs are usually optimised against anti-ship missiles (ASMs), which are...

A host of next generation Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) have been unveiled by global forces in recent weeks, highlighting the significance that militaries are now placing on this rapidly progressing s...

While defence departments and industry have been pouring money into the very high power end of the spectrum, struggling to come up with ways to make lasers usable, portable and generally militarily vi...