Laser weapons could be the future of warfare, and hence there is a worldwide interest in acquiring such system. DRDO is reported to have achieved a fairly advanced stage of testing a real prototype

In 2022, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) tested a 100-kilowatt lightweight directed-energy weapon (DEW) called the Directionally Unrestricted Ray-Gun Array (DURGA) II. The DEW is based on lasers, microwaves, or particle beams that transmit lethal force at the speed of light. The Laser Science and Technology Centre (LASTEC) in Delhi is the lead laboratory for developing laser weapons. The Indian Army is expected to receive the weapon.

The DURGA-2 can operate using laser, microwave, or particle beams. The weapon is planned to be cost-effective and innovative, and could help manage obstacle clearance at airports and vertiports. 

DEWs use focused energy to destroy or damage targets. They have several advantages over conventional munitions, including speed.

The DEW project is called DURGA-II and is a game-changer in the military domain.

About DURGA-II

The classified project, DURGA-II, is a 100-kilowatt lightweight DEW that will soon be in the hands of the Indian Army, according to a service official who spoke to the news agency Defence News last year. Scientists, on the other hand, have noted that this weapon system is set to be integrated with sea, air and land-based platforms as well, wrote defence analyst Girish Linganna.

The lead laboratory in developing laser weapons, Laser Science and Technology Centre at Delhi, highlighted the range of the enigmatic gun, saying that “the centre has to this point made a 25-kilowatt laser that can target a ballistic missile during its terminal phase at a maximum distance of 5 kilometres.”

DURGA is not a new project. The existence of this project has been noted in various reports over the course of the past two decades, since the early 2000s. Until 2008, reports indicated that there was little progress with the project

However, back in 2017, in Chitradurga, the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) testing of a 1KW truck-mounted laser weapon at a test facility in the presence of the then defence minister Arun Jaitley is viewed as a part of project DURGA. At this point, the confirmed range of the weapon was at least 250 metres. Since then, there appears to have been a substantial capability enhancement, evident in the DEW now possessing a 25-kilowatt laser gun.

While the possibility of low-cost per hit, great speed, and high precision makes the weapon extremely potent, several drawbacks need to be addressed before it becomes viable for use.

The Chinese or Pakistani ballistic missiles pose greatest threat to Indian security. Though India has contracted with Russia for five S-400 anti-missile systems costing USD 5.25 billion to prevent incoming missiles from falling over Indian territory, it cannot guarantee the destruction of each and every missile directed at Indian metros. The laser weapon can also annihilate the enemy civilian or military radar and electronic warfare systems, which will render all enemy missile establishments useless.

The DURGA-II is planned to be integrated with land, sea and air based platforms.

Challenges

Such high-power laser weapons are not easy to develop. For starters,  providing adequate power to the systems is a significant challenge. The availability of a significant power source can not be guaranteed in all pressing scenarios that might arise on the battlefield. Another issue emerging as a corollary of massive energy usage is heating. The amount of heat generated acts as a substantial roadblock to an efficient deployment of DEWs. The heat generated during the operation of a DEW impacts power consumption.

Additionally, it also affects the overall size and weight of the system. The challenge in this regard is the creation of a cooling mechanism. There is another issue with lasers. When they travel towards a target, laser beams come across atmospheric effects such as water vapour, dust, pollutants etc., that can distort it by absorbing or refracting energy and lead to loss of focus. Thus, it is also necessary to ensure that the beam generated from the DEW is focused on the given target. This involves a lot of innovation in creating lenses that can focus the beam- the department of optronics or optoelectronics.

Other considerations are also at play here. For instance,  a laser can only stop a missile if it generates enough energy to slash through its electronics package. An adversary could add a harder, thicker outer shield layer, thus defending it from DEWs. Moreover, since a laser weapon can only focus on one target at once, a volley of missiles could overwhelm the DEWs defence. Plus, targeting low-flying cruise missiles that are often out of sight would also be problematic. Heat-seeking kinetic interceptors do not face this issue.