The test beds for these kinds of weapons likely could be pod units installed aboard so-called fourth generation fighter jets, Hammett said. The commander of Air Force Combat Command, Gen. Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle, revealed last May that a test is in the works involving an F-15 Eagle. "I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll see a prototype test case in the next year or two," Carlisle told Air Combat Command.
A mix of laser and conventional weapons could result in "a totally transformed battle space in 20 to 25 years," he said.
Very simply, here's how laser weapons work: They focus extremely concentrated beams of light on their targets, heating them to such high temperatures that they burn or ignite, disabling or destroying the target. Hammett said fighter jet weapons would use a type of laser called solid state -- which creates laser beams by pumping energy into a solid crystalline material.
When researchers and military brass describe these weapons, the operative word is "defensive."
In other words, don't expect to see fighter jets strafing troops with deadly beams of light.
Here's how Air Force special ops might use them: The commander of USAF special ops, Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, said last September that by 2020 he wants them on C-130J Ghostrider gunships for landing zone protection.
The laser weapons would take out possible threats like enemy vehicles, or disable infrastructure such as cell towers.
When you're shooting a laser, electric power equals ammunition. As long as the plane has fuel to power itself, its laser weapons essentially would be "loaded."
As Hammett put it: "You could have an unlimited magazine ... loitering aircraft that could address and access a wide variety of targets. Incredible precision strike capabilities could be enabled there."
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