Using lasers to reduce drag in hypersonic weapons

I&#x27;ve been reading up on plasma flow control, which is pretty fascinating. It looks like there are some near-term opportunities for plasma flow control on commercial airplanes (on the leading edge of wings) to improve efficiency.<p>It also has potential to produce quieter drones. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Plasma_actuator" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Plasma_actuator</a><p>Finally, I&#x27;m particularly interested in the use of large-volume plasma-based propulsion in airships. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;iopscience.iop.org&#x2F;article&#x2F;10.1088&#x2F;1742-6596&#x2F;825&#x2F;1&#x2F;012005" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;iopscience.iop.org&#x2F;article&#x2F;10.1088&#x2F;1742-6596&#x2F;825&#x2F;1&#x2F;0...</a> &quot;First Breakthrough for Future Air-Breathing Magneto-Plasma Propulsion Systems&quot;

This is pretty &quot;out there.&quot; Conceptually it makes sense but the comment in the article that carrying along a power supply to make this practical cuts back on the efficiency.<p>That said, the idea of super heating the air in front of the leading edge so that the dense air in front goes around seems pretty amazing. But I am not sure I understand how the same super heated air doesn&#x27;t result in the same heating they were trying to avoid.

My 13 y&#x2F;o self would have loved to say &quot;I work on lasers that create a plasma shield for hypersonic weapons&quot;

Could this idea work for rockets leaving earth? Use a ground based laser to create a hole in the atmosphere then fly a rocket thru it to space.<p>Edit: Some quick research seems to indicate that atmospheric drag is a relatively small part of the overall energy budget in a space launch - perhaps only 10%. So probably not worth the effort.

I always thought the issue here is the difficulty getting radio waves through plasma for these weapons. So once the plasma is turned on, it&#x27;s radio silence&#x2F;the device is on it&#x27;s own. There would be no GPS getting through, so if the trajectory is off you can&#x27;t fix it. Has there been any success in getting EM through plasma?

It&#x27;s only the start of the 20s. It&#x27;s too soon. It&#x27;s all happening too soon this time around.

I can see how this reduced drag on solid parts, but does it not also operate as an engine? The laser energy is projected <i>forwards</i> to hit molecules of air out in front of the aircraft. Those molecules are heated and so expand (the shockwave) but are they also not accelerated forwards? Yes, the laser is effectively pushing the air out of the way, but is that energy more or less than the energy needed to push the air away using mechanical force? Ie is putting energy into the laser more efficient than simply using that energy to increase the power of the engines?<p>In other words, rather than use the laser to expand air in front of the craft, would it be more efficient to use the laser to expand air in the engine to increase thrust?

This is essentially the sport of curling, sped up.

As per - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.scientificamerican.com&#x2F;article&#x2F;its-time-to-rein-in-inflated-military-budgets&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.scientificamerican.com&#x2F;article&#x2F;its-time-to-rein-...</a><p>&quot;U.S. military is still the world’s top petroleum consumer and largest carbon polluter. Between 2001 and 2017, the five military branches collectively emitted 1.2 billion metric tons of carbon emissions, twice the annual output of all the passenger vehicles nationwide.&quot;

TLDR; (quoted)<p>Since at least the 1980s, many leading aerospace laboratories have explored the concept of &quot;energy deposition&quot; in order to reduce drag. This concept involves beaming energy in the form of laser filaments, electric arcs, or microwave radiation along the leading edges or just in front of an aircraft in order to condition the air to be more conducive to high-speed flight.

Think in terms of kinetic kill devices. Launched from orbit could cross atmosphere in an extremely short time at high angle giving basically no time to react. No warhead would be needed because it would be able to penetrate and kill anybody or anything within most existing standing structures.

Does one have anything to do with the other? Recent Gov announcement of materials or craft not from this world? Black Op Programs at Area 51? It&#x27;s all very interesting.<p>&gt;Department of Defense (DoD) funded laboratories have laid the groundwork for systems designed to literally sheathe an entire vehicle in laser and&#x2F;or microwave-induced plasma in order to drastically reduce drag. If successfully developed, this concept may someday lead to new frontiers in speed and radical new forms of aerodynamic control and aircraft design.<p>&gt;but it’s another thing entirely to attempt to intercept a projectile moving at speeds greater than five times the speed of sound while executing abrupt changes in trajectory.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.thedrive.com&#x2F;the-war-zone&#x2F;27666&#x2F;what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-ufos-and-department-of-defense" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.thedrive.com&#x2F;the-war-zone&#x2F;27666&#x2F;what-the-hell-is...</a><p>The main revelation is that technology exists that is capable of performing flying maneuvers that shatter our perceptions of propulsion, flight controls, material science, and even physics. Let me underline this again for you, the Nimitz encounter with the Tic Tac proved that exotic technology that is widely thought of as the domain of science fiction actually exists. It is real. It isn&#x27;t the result of altered perception, someone&#x27;s lucid dream, a stray weather balloon, or swamp gas. Someone or something has crossed the technological Rubicon and has obtained what some would call the Holy Grail of aerospace engineering.

I know it&#x27;s probably just illustrative, but the craft in &quot;FIGURE 2: Air is heated...&quot; looks reminiscient of the Tic-Tac of Nimitz fame.<p>Figure V-24 looks like a stereotypical UFO, saucer shaped with circles around the top and all.

I wonder if that technique could reduce sonic boom in aircraft like Boom Supersonic&#x27;s?

detonate the air in front of the wing, and surf the shockwave. This research happened in California by any chance?<p>Apologies if its addressed and i just missed it in the article; but doesn&#x27;t this seem energy hungry? Like &quot;what power source can we make fly that can do this output?&quot;