Inherently boresighted laser weapon alignment subsystem

US4614913A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army · US

Inventors

• Thomas E. Honeycutt · Somerville, US
• Thomas G. Roberts · Huntsville, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Apr 30, 1984
• Grant date: Sep 30, 1986
• Expiry date: Apr 30, 2004

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H01S3/082
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A laser weapon which has no boresighting problems in that only one laser is sed to perform all the functions of search, track, and negation. The laser weapon is made to operate in both a low power cw mode and a high energy pulsed mode about the boresight. This is accomplished here by the application of a material which can be rapidly switched from a transmissive to a reflective state so as to be able to utilize the same laser for search, travel, and negation; thus eliminating the need for boresight and requiring only alignment.