The word "laser" is an abbreviation for the English word Laser, which stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.<br />The applications of laser technology in missile guidance, reconnaissance, electro-optical interference, and laser weapons have greatly enhanced military efficiency and combat power. Moreover, advances in laser technology open up new possibilities and challenges for future military development, making significant contributions to international security and military capabilities.<br />Laser beams travel at a very high speed, with scientists in this field estimating that they travel about 190,000 miles per second. If we knew that a satellite or an intercontinental missile could not travel this distance in this time, we would realize that the movement of the target does not affect the accuracy of the laser at all, and that it hits the target almost before it moves from its location.<br />Lasers can also hit their designated targets several times in the blink of an eye, regardless of the distance between the laser source and the target, thus proving to us another fact, which is that lasers are fast-firing and have a strong ability to destroy a target of any size. Applied studies have also shown us that the effect of lasers on the target increases the higher the source of the rays is above the ground.<br /><br />Accordingly, most users of this device for military purposes take into account placing it on top of mountains or placing it in aircraft or spaceships so that its effect is very strong to destroy the desired targets.<br /><br />The laser weapon has many military applications, including:-<br />- Destroying intercontinental or long-range missiles.<br />- Destroying tanks, rocket launchers and ground vehicles in general.<br />- Destroying space stations and satellites while they are in orbit.<br />- Protecting ships (warplane carriers) from bomber aircraft and even anti-ship guided missiles.<br /><br />Laser technology has developed to the point of being able to hit the target with precision, as the missile carrying explosives depends on its own pre-coded computer programming, so that it does not collide or conflict with another missile for other targets.<br /><br />The air forces of some major countries have experimented with a laser system that is portable on military vehicles, airborne on warplanes, and even on warships, in a way that makes it capable of destroying tactical missiles the moment they are launched from their locations or detected by optical technology and precision devices. In fact, practical experiments were conducted to shoot down a missile with an airborne laser - with a range of 400 km - in 1996, and the same technology was used to destroy a ballistic missile within five seconds with a power of two megawatts. Although these studies and experiments are very expensive, the major countries continue them to prove their military superiority over the entire world<br /><br /><br />"AL_mustaqbal University is the first university in Iraq"