The Chinese military has shared a potentially significant advancement in energy weapon technology, though it needs to be confirmed. According to the South China Morning Post, experts from the National University of Defence Technology in China claim they’ve created an advanced cooling system.
This system could keep high-energy lasers running continuously without overheating issues. While lasers have been around for a while, these powerful beams usually produce a lot of extra heat, causing problems for past attempts at similar weapons globally. Because of the heat issues, making viable weapons that fire laser beams has been impossible.
With this breakthrough, though, feasible laser weapons might become a reality.
China’s new laser weapon
Reportedly, the new cooling system developed in China will use gas that flows through the weapon to dissipate excess heat. This advancement would enable the guns to fire accurate laser beams without losing power or disintegrating continuously.
In a recent paper published in the Chinese journal Acta Optica Sinica, the research team stated, “High-quality beams can be produced not only in the first second but also maintained indefinitely.”
A new arms race in the making
While the United States has also explored similar technologies, these projects have not gained widespread use as they were not potent enough, according to the report.
Former British military official Steve Weaver tweeted that if the claims about the Chinese cooling technology are valid, it could establish China’s superiority over the United States in multiple aspects, especially considering previous U.S. setbacks in this field.
Likely to be used to shoot down satellites
In addition to potentially offering a less expensive alternative to traditional missile systems, since it wouldn’t require conventional munitions, these advanced lasers might be able to intercept satellites like those from Elon Musk’s Starlink system, military experts told the SCMP.
It’s essential to approach these claims with caution until the system’s performance is seen in the real world or tests, especially given the previous uncertainties about new weapons in China.
