Tom
An Old Friend
I was reading about Lockheed Martin destroying a truck engine with a laser today.
Lockheed Martin laser weapon takes out truck
It got me thinking about what would be the most effective weapon system to use in a space battle, Projectiles or Lasers?
Lasers:
Projectiles:
Lockheed Martin laser weapon takes out truck
It got me thinking about what would be the most effective weapon system to use in a space battle, Projectiles or Lasers?
Lasers:
- Uses heat to destroy a target
- Must be actively maintained on target
- Not affected by gravity
- Has high energy requirements
- Dissipates with distance (must maintain focus)
- Does not require storage space
- Does not deplete its stores
- May require charge and recharge time
- Is straight-line targeted
Projectiles:
- Uses matter and mass to destroy a target
- Can be equipped with guidance, explosive or specialty devices
- Can be set to a location as a mine (With relative speeds in space even a static object is a collision problem)
- Maintains its integrity over distance
- Is affected by gravity
- After launch, requires no additional energy
- Needs large storage space
- Depletes its stores
- Can be rapidly fired with no cool-down or recharge time
- Can be used as an emergency maneuvering tactic