Chinese scientists from the National University of Defense Technology in the city of Changsha claim to have made a major breakthrough in laser weapon technology. Thanks to a new cooling system that completely eliminates the waste heat build-up, high-energy laser weapons can now work “infinitely”.

Researchers say the technology could dramatically change modern warfare by increasing range, damage, and runtime. This was achieved through the development of a new cooling system that uses improved designs and optimized gas flow to remove heat inside the laser gun, minimize turbulence and vibration, and increase mirror cleanliness.

“Now lasers can not only emit a high-quality pulse in the first second, but also maintain it for as long as you want,” said Yuan Shenfu, head of the research team.

A team of scientists developed an internal beam path converter, a system that blows gas through the gun to remove waste heat and increase gas purity. The system is designed to be compact and efficient, with a focus on optimizing gas flow and minimizing size and weight.

The cooling system consists of several key components, including an air source, a heat exchanger, a gas flow control system, and a gas injection/suction system. The air source supplies the system with clean, dry air, then passes through a heat exchanger to cool it to the desired temperature.

The gas flow control system regulates the gas flow, ensuring it is delivered at the right temperature and holding time to achieve small quasi-static deviations. One of the main challenges was ensuring that the gas flow achieved the desired cooling and cleaning effect. This required extensive development and testing of the gas flow control system as well as the injection/suction system that delivers the gas to the inner path of the beam.

Another challenge was to make the system compact and efficient for use in real combat conditions. Innovative designs such as improved pneumatic designs, flow optimization on each track, injector/suction integration with the beam section, and simplified piping were required. For now, all other details of the military development are kept secret. There is not even the simplest schematic representation of the system. Source