Directed Energy Weapons: New Frontier of Warfare

The genesis of 'Directed Energy Weapons' (DEWs) came up during the cold war when Karl Bendetson and the High Frontier panel of private citizens advised President Ronald Reagan for a crash program to develop missile defences. It was not just to defend against Soviet nuclear weapons but also because of strong indications that the Soviets were going to deploy 'powerful directed energy weapons' in space to gain control of space by using weapons like lasers, jammers etc. Towards the end of the Cold War, the US focused on ballistic missile defence and spending on DEWs. The Tactical High-Energy Laser (THEL) and the Airborne Laser (ABL) are the US closest to actual deployments.

Directed-energy weapons, which offer advantages over conventional weapons by providing attack at the speed of light, rapid and unlimited engagement, flexibility, low operational cost, precise targeting of multiple targets, and coverage of wide areas, seem to be at the vanguard of the next revolution in military weapons.

In 1996, the US and Israel jointly developed a laser system capable of shooting down Katyusha rockets, artillery, and mortar shells. So far, the program has witnessed substantial success and is still in the development phase, with some successful tests over the decades from air, water, and sea.

Meanwhile, long-standing investments in DEWs have started paying off in the US. On April 8th, 2013, the US Navy officially announced its new high-energy laser weapon technology, a year ahead of schedule, in which a prototype shipboard laser will be deployed on a converted amphibious transport and docking ship in the Persian Gulf. Navy’s Laser Weapon System (LaWS), will engage six powerful lasers into one directional powerful beam of light, which would able to destroy UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) or UCAVs (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle) and high speed boats. In 2009, LaWS was tested in a desert environment at a naval warfare centre in California, where five UAVs at different ranges were successfully destroyed. In 2010 it was again tested at sea coast of San Nicolas island California under realistic marine time sea environment, the test successfully destroyed four UAVs and couple of high speed boat, hence it validates the deployment of this laser weapon in actual operational conditions.

In recent years, the tension in the Persian Gulf has heightened between the US and Iran. According to the New York Times, “Iranian fast-attack boats have harassed American warships and where the government in Tehran is building remotely piloted aircraft carrying surveillance pods and, someday potentially, rockets”. Hence, an effective weapon system is imminent. These laser weapons can give early warning accurately, thereby avoiding collateral damage. After burning their fingers in Afghanistan and subsequently in Iraq, Americans have learned that a conventional weapon system would not be viable in changing the modern warfare era. Conventional weapons such as missiles and projectiles are vital for defensive and offensive engagement, but they are limited, expensive and require time for engagement.

Energy Laser weapons outrage conventional weapons by providing speed-of-light engagement with reduced collateral damage at a tactically significant range and an unlimited number of shots, minimizing the use of defensive missiles and projectiles. Manufactured in less than US$ 30 million and engagement cost of less than US$1 per shot vis-à-vis to current short-range air-defense interceptor missiles which costs up to $1.4 million each; the system is highly cost effective. Although the costs involved in the research and development of DEWs are substantial, it’s important to note that the nature of this cost is one-time and does not reoccur. This weapon can also give an Unambiguous Warning at Range by using a “frequency-doubling crystal, an intense, visible beam can be projected to significant ranges to provide warning that a potential target is about to be engaged” unless an immediate behaviour change is observed.

For more than half a century, the US has defined its paramount national security interest in the Persian Gulf to safeguard its oil installations in Saudi Arabia and the neighbouring emirate of Bahrain. As per the Brookings Institution report, 17% of U.S. oil imports and less than 0.5% of natural gas imports originate from the Persian Gulf. This indicates that the US' dependence on the Persian Gulf for energy needs is not as extensive as was believed earlier. The pertinent question is: Why is the USA deploying DEWs in the Gulf if it's not about energy security? According to the Council for Foreign Relations, America’s presence is vital to secure and “maintain the security of world trade over the seas and air while also ensuring that international economic transactions take place in an orderly way” by helping in the security of their allies in the Gulf.

However, US hegemony and their quest for a 'balance of power' in this region are not hidden. To upkeep their dominance in the area, weapons like DEW will play as catalysts to project their power. But it is also noteworthy that these lasers have limitations, as 'lasers are ineffective in bad weather because the beam can be disturbed or scattered by water vapour, as well as by smoke, sand and dust'. It is also a 'line of sight' weapon, meaning the target must be visible. It has single wavelengths that limit the range of operational conditions in which they are practical, and a constant focused beam on the target is crucial. In addition, the weapon is impractical for high-speed targets such as fighters and ballistic missiles. Hence, weapon effectiveness is best known after deployment.

Nonetheless, for a country like India, which does not face any direct conventional threat in the Gulf but non-traditional threats such as pirates, marine terrorism, mine deployments, and threats from non-state actors, weapons like these could aid the operation's needs. India’s interest in the Gulf is much more crucial, and security measures are more indispensable than any other country in the world, as the majority of energy needs are fulfilled from this area, so the major security challenge India faces today is securing these sea lanes. Therefore, to ensure an uninterrupted supply of energy to support the economic and commercial activities necessary for sustained economic growth, these weapons help in rapid engagement at a reasonable cost. The ability of these weapons to engage with mortar rounds, floating mines, artillery rounds, and unambiguous warnings at the range serves India's vital purpose: avoiding collateral damage while saving its interest in the region.

Though the technology is in a nascent stage, its technical analysis in terms of feasibility, utility, and practicality to deployment needs considerable time and rigorous research, so far, has provided strong evidence that a useful, tactical system could be produced. India cannot be oblivious to the fact that technologically advanced and asymmetric threats would dominate modern as well as futuristic warfare scenarios. Many people might question the economic feasibility of this kind of weapon technology.  But the hard fact is that we cannot fight a war with archers in the era of snipers. With the unprecedented pace at which new technologies emerge, conventional weapons would soon become obsolete. The development of new weapon technologies has overshot projection; hence, conventional warfare could enter the age of laser weapons within the next decade, much sooner than most expected. Even though DRDO in 2010 announced that they are developing high energy laser weapon technology to shoot down missiles, as of now program is in its formative stage, henceforth it seems that India has to push the program on higher stake.