FOX NEWS ADMITS GOVERNMENT USING LASERS (DEW) BEFORE CA FIRES (October 22, 2017)

On September 28, 2017, about 10 days before the Northern California Fires in Wine Country began, Fox News ADMITS to the government having Laser Technology or Directed Energy Weapons (DEW).

ATHENA, (Advanced Test High Energy Asset), is one of the most exciting of these new American laser weapons. During recent testing with the U.S. Army's Space and Missile Defense Command at the Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the 30-kilowatt weapon slayed five Outlaw drones. Not toy hobby sized drones, but drones with nearly 11 foot wingspans.

Silent, invisible, deadly. The powerful ATHENA laser weapon can destroy enemy threats within seconds.

For the United States, thanks to pioneering efforts of American companies like Lockheed Martin and the military, laser weapons are no longer the stuff of Star Wars and Star Trek.

In near-term future battles, the U.S. military can choose to bring laser weapons mounted on vehicles, vessels, and more, to war. By comparison, the weapons of any enemy will look like bows and arrows.

How does it work?

On the most basic level, ATHENA destroys threats with heat. It is similar to when folks use a magnifying glass to start a fire while camping – but on an incredibly powerful level.

ATHENA is what is called a fiber laser. Fiber lasers combine individual lasers to generate a single, intense laser beam. Each laser is generated by the weapon’s fiber optics. This approach means that the power can be easily adjusted by adding more individual lasers to the combined beam or reducing the number.

Lockheed Martin’s beam control tech uses lenses, mirrors, windows and software algorithms to shape the energy into a focused beam. As the light travels through the mirrors, lenses and windows, the ATHENA system concentrates and modifies the laser’s energy.

Threats can come from any direction. ATHENA’s beam director and turret are designed to match this so the weapons can fire 360 degrees.

Battles will never be the same

Lockheed Martin has been pioneering in laser weapon systems for more than four decades. ATHENA’s upgrades and remarkable recent performance of defeating 100 percent of the drones is the latest exciting news in their laser family.

ATHENA’s sibling, ADAM, is another laser. During testing a few years ago, ADAM proved it could destroy fast attack military grade boats by burning through their hulls in less than 30 seconds – again from about a mile away.

The company is further miniaturizing laser weapons for tactical U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps vehicles.

For Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Air Force Research Laboratory, Lockheed Martin has worked on a prototype turret to mount laser weapons on aircraft.

What’s next?

In near term battles, the US military will have the option to unleash laser weapons on vehicles, vessels and possibly even aircraft. The precision of lasers like ATHENA is already remarkable.

As the technology continues to advance at a rapid pace in the U.S., lasers like ATHENA will be able to strike farther and farther away. And destroy bigger and bigger targets.