U.S. defense company The Boeing Company has been issued a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a method that generates a "force field" to repel blasts from shells and other explosive weapons.

The patent is for a "method and system for shockwave attenuation via electromagnetic arc". The device to be produced by this method combines a sensor and a high energy laser that work together to create a "plasma shield".

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The sensor triggers the laser after it detects the nearby blast. An "arc generator" on the vehicle then generates high-intensity laser pulses that excite and heat air molecules in the space between the vehicle and the blast site. It creates an electric arc that travels along the electrically conductive path produced by the laser.

That massive energy directed into empty space produces a bubble called a "Laser-Induced Plasma Channel" or LIPC. This plasma shield absorbs and deflects much of the incoming energy from the shock wave.

This system might also be able to slow and deflect shrapnel being propelled by the shock wave. The LIPC won't be able to stop or deflect a shell aimed directly at the vehicle.

The device detects an explosion in water or air then estimates the time and location of the explosion. A signal from the sensor then fires the laser. The system will rely on a database of bomb explosion signatures so it knows just much energy to use to create the plasma shield.

The design is expected to protect everything from vehicles, armored fighting vehicles, ships, submarines, buildings and even humans.