The US Air Force plans to deploy high-energy laser weapons on fighter aircraft in 2021. Illustration: US Air Force

The US Air Force will even put into use unmanned fighter aircraft that can calculate and make decisions on their own.

The US Air Force is requesting up to $2.5 billion for science and technology in its fiscal 2017 budget submission. This is a welcome change from 2016, when cuts were made.

According to scientist Greg Zacharias of the US Air Force, in the context of Russia and China racing to catch up with the country’s military technological achievements, Washington cannot stand by and watch.

`What we need is a leap forward to develop more powerful technology instead of sitting on the chair of success and doing nothing,` Zacharias said.

High energy laser weapons

According to Military Times, in just about 5 years, US Air Force fighter jets will be able to fire high-energy lasers, inspired by laser weapon technology in the famous science fiction movie Star Wars.

The US Air Force has not yet chosen a fighter type to equip with laser weapons, although their engineering team is targeting the F-15 fighter aircraft.

The Air Combat Command-sponsored AFRL’s Shield program aims to field high-energy laser weapons on tactical aircraft by 2021, said Richard Bagnell, Shield program director.

According to Bagnell, Shield’s engineering team began implementing the project last February to take full advantage of the latest developments in solid-state laser technology.

`The idea of this is to utilize the energy in lasers that shoot at the speed of light to protect aircraft when operating in environments with many threats,` Bagnell said.

The construction of the Shield program will be implemented in different stages with the participation of many units.

The US Air Force plans to appoint a contractor to develop the laser control system next March and announce a systems integrator in September. The contract to develop the laser will be postponed until next year to allow

However, before the high-energy laser weapon project to equip fighter jets becomes a reality, the Shield program’s team of engineers and technicians still have many obstacles to overcome.

The US Air Force has made some progress in developing laser weapons mounted on AC-130 heavy attack aircraft.

First, when moving at high speeds, the aircraft vibrates more strongly, affecting the ability to accurately aim laser weapons.

Self-control technology

AFRL is developing self-control technology for fighter jets.

Pilots remotely controlling American drones must now observe video screens for hours to filter out events of concern and report suspicious signs to leaders through the command system.

`Instead of forcing pilots to sit and monitor data for hours, an automated system will thoroughly examine the data and help filter out what is most important,` Kearns said.

Kearns noted that AFRL’s research into autonomous systems is not intended to replace decision-making by pilots.

According to AFRL, this coordination is completely feasible in a strictly controlled environment.

Kearns said AFRL also wants to go even further with the ambition of developing self-controlled intelligent unmanned combat aircraft.

Hong Van