The U.S. Air Force plans to test a high-energy laser gun on its jet fighters by 2021, a game changing technology that will alter the way future aerial wars will be fought.

The Air Force hasn't chosen the jet that will be armed with a solid-state laser but the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) seems to be leaning towards the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, a combat proven, fourth generation fighter that entered Air Force service in 1976.

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AFRL is also considering the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightning II fifth generation stealth jets and the F-16 Fighting Falcon as possible test platforms. AFRL's "Shield" program sponsored by Air Combat Command aims to demonstrate a high-energy laser on a tactical aircraft in 2021.

Funding the future laser jets will be an Air Force request for $2.5 billion in their fiscal 2017 budget to Congress.

Sources said AFRL engineers might combine many small lasers (similar to those in a Blu-Ray player) into a powerful high-power beam with over 10 kilowatts of power.

"The idea here is to take power that's in those beams, which travel at the speed of light, and be able to protect the aircraft in a threat environment," said Richard Bagnell, Shield program manager.

Packaging lasers into a size small enough to arm a fighter might give Air Force fighters a big advantage in speed of engagement. The laser's power is generated by electrical power in the jet's engines.

The Air Force will complete the program in several stages. One contractor will develop the laser while another will build the overall laser weapons system. A third contractor will develop a beam-control system that allows the operator to direct the laser target, and a fourth will integrate the entire system.

But the Air Force will first mount an airborne laser on a larger aircraft before testing it on smaller fighters. A Lockheed AC-130W Stinger II gunship belonging to the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) will test the military's first solid state laser mounted aboard a combat aircraft.

In addition, this particular "Whiskey" will also be transformed into an "aircraft carrier" (in the real sense of the word) to test the feasibility of launching the Coyote UAS (Unmanned Aerial System), an expendable, low cost drone used for tactical reconnaissance, in mid-flight.

The laser cannon will occupy the 30 mm cannon position forward of the wing where airflow is less disturbed. AFSOC wants to either install a 60 kW or a 120 kW solid state laser to be used for knocking-out stationary vehicles, aircraft and fixed communications sites such as radio towers.

The Air Force will first test the laser weapons on larger aircraft such as the AC-130 and C-17 Globemaster until miniaturization allows these powerful weapons to be mounted on fighter jets such as the F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-22 Raptor and the F-35.           

TagsU.S. Air Force, laser, High Energy Laser, F-15 Eagle, F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning II, air force research laboratory