The ALKA

directed-energy weapon A directed-energy weapon (DEW) is a ranged weapon that damages its target with highly focused energy without a solid projectile, including lasers, microwaves, particle beams, and sound beams. Potential applications of this technology include ...

(DEW) system is a Turkish dual electromagnetic/laser weapon developed by Roketsan. It was first unveiled at the 2019

IDEF IDEF, initially an abbreviation of ICAM Definition and renamed in 1999 as Integration Definition, is a family of modeling languages in the field of systems and software engineering. They cover a wide range of uses from functional modeling to da ...

exhibition on 8 May 2019. This combat laser was allegedly used to destroy one of GNC's

Wing Loong II The Chengdu GJ-2, also known as Wing Loong 2, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight developed by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group in the People's Republic of China. Intended for use as a surve ...

UAVs An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Drone ...

; if true, this would represent the first known time a vehicle-mounted combat laser was used to destroy another combat vehicle during genuine wartime conditions.

History

It was reported in 2010s that various Turkish organizations like TÜBİTAK SAGE and Aselsan had been working on tactical lasers and some had achieved success in both 2015 and 2018 prior to the unveiling of ALKA directed-energy weapon. According to ROKETSAN official Prof.Uğur Kayasal the weapon was developed in response to the increase of drone attacks on Turkish forces. ROKETSAN spent five years making the directed energy weapon system and spent the last two years of the developmental period to make the system road-mobile. On 4 August 2019 an ALKA DEW mounted on an off-road armored car allegedly shot down a Chinese-made

UAV An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Drone ...

Misrata Misrata ( ; , Libyan Arabic: ; also spelled Misratah and known by the Italian spelling Misurata) is a city in northwestern Libya located in the Misrata District, situated to the east of Tripoli on the Mediterranean coast near Cape Misrata. ...

, Libya.

Characteristics

The ALKA DEW is claimed to have a power of 20 kW. It operates both laser and electromagnetic systems. It purportedly uses

automatic target recognition Automatic target recognition (ATR) is the ability for an algorithm or device to recognize targets or other objects based on data obtained from sensors. Target recognition was initially done by using an audible representation of the received signal ...

utilizing both electro-optical and

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

detection to track multiple targets simultaneously. It is claimed by its designers to have the capability to disable a swarm of drones at a range of 4000 m, destroy a target with laser at 500 m distance and destroy a target at 1000 m distance with electromagnetic weapons. According to the designers, it can track targets at speeds as high as 150 km/h and track targets with precision of 8 mm at 1000 m distance. It can purportedly operate in both night and day time and on multiple platforms, both stationary and mobile. It has allegedly been used both against

IEDs An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...

and

s in multiple environments.

References

{{reflist Directed-energy weapons Roketsan products Weapons of Turkey Weapons and ammunition introduced in 2019 Science and technology in Turkey Military lasers Turkish inventions