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China unveils man-portable anti-drone laser that can burn through a drone 1,600 feet away in four seconds — backpack-sized 2-kilowatt weapon uses AI for targeting, weighs 55 pounds, and can be carried by a single soldier
Or just painted white or with an IR reflective coating. The laser is more likely to damage the FPV camera at that point if it's using one, at least at far range.
Idk how much actual optical power this puts out (maybe 50-100w?), but if properly focused, lasers can literally turn air into plasma with no object to "hit". Check out 9:12 from this vid. I'd say no paint is helpful beyond maybe a few more seconds of resistance.
And most weaponized lasers are pulsed, but probably at a high frequency to actually cause burn damage. This provides even higher power being released into the target at once.
The Lijian II and Lijian III, shown at the Defence Information Equipment & Technology Exhibition 2026 that opened Tuesday, weigh 30kg (66 pounds) and 25kg (55 pounds), draw around 2 kW, and cost about 2 million yuan (US$295,000) each, according to the South China Morning Post. It also uses AI for targeting.
Well, if you make it a squad-level equipment, only a couple guys per squad need to get bogged down with it, similar to how other specialized equipment like radios is already treated.
I read the article but I'm still not sure how it's powered -- is it self contained, or does it need an outside power source? Batteries? The 55 lbs seems a little light for all it's supposed to do.
homezlice | a day ago
And here come the mirrored drones.
lack_of_communicatio | a day ago
Or a swarm of drones, which in total costs less than $5K.
jaymzx0 | a day ago
Or just painted white or with an IR reflective coating. The laser is more likely to damage the FPV camera at that point if it's using one, at least at far range.
Van_Darklholme | 18 hours ago
Idk how much actual optical power this puts out (maybe 50-100w?), but if properly focused, lasers can literally turn air into plasma with no object to "hit". Check out 9:12 from this vid. I'd say no paint is helpful beyond maybe a few more seconds of resistance.
And most weaponized lasers are pulsed, but probably at a high frequency to actually cause burn damage. This provides even higher power being released into the target at once.
mambotomato | a day ago
So in theory the drone has to be going 400 feet per second to reach you. That's like 270 miles per hour, so pretty fast!
Or two drones at 135 miles per hour.
Or four going 70...
onan | 23 hours ago
Are we considering this to be a "thought-provoking long-form article" now?
[OP] D-R-AZ | a day ago
Excerpt :
The Lijian II and Lijian III, shown at the Defence Information Equipment & Technology Exhibition 2026 that opened Tuesday, weigh 30kg (66 pounds) and 25kg (55 pounds), draw around 2 kW, and cost about 2 million yuan (US$295,000) each, according to the South China Morning Post. It also uses AI for targeting.
SwellMonsieur | 20 hours ago
Man portable? For how long? Can you trudge through a whole day carrying this?
Miiirx | 22 hours ago
Tetsuoooooooooooo!
thecajuncavalier | a day ago
And how fast can it burn through an innocent citizen?
IAmNotMyName | 20 hours ago
That’s the neat part
QuentinMagician | 22 hours ago
Ouch
QuantumQuokka | a day ago
"Can be carried by a single soldier"
"Weighs 55 pounds"
Chinese soldiers must seriously just be built different
masklinn | a day ago
55 lbs is about average for a combat load. For multi-day field ops it can exceed double that.
QuantumQuokka | a day ago
Sure, but isn't this gonna be 55 pounds on top of the standard equipment you need to carry as a soldier?
ranthria | 21 hours ago
Well, if you make it a squad-level equipment, only a couple guys per squad need to get bogged down with it, similar to how other specialized equipment like radios is already treated.
lordspesh | a day ago
Don't be silly. They bring a truck for that.
Ghoztt | 19 hours ago
At least it's not a phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range!
ayam | 17 hours ago
hey, just what you see, pal
johnkoetsier | 15 hours ago
4 seconds is a long time to hold on-target
lgodsey | 11 hours ago
I read the article but I'm still not sure how it's powered -- is it self contained, or does it need an outside power source? Batteries? The 55 lbs seems a little light for all it's supposed to do.
andre3kthegiant | 10 hours ago
“Anti-Flying-landmine” device.
NeverInsightful | 6 hours ago
How fast can it retarget? Or if 4 or 5 drones are headed at you is it still game over?