BAE outlines laser-based deflector shield concept

Developed by engineers at BAE’s military aircraft facility in Warton, and evaluated by experts at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, the so-called Laser Developed Atmospheric Lens (LDAL) concept, works by simulating naturally occurring phenomena and temporarily creating lens-like structures in the Earth's atmosphere which can be used to magnify or change the path of electromagnetic waves such as light and radio signals.

The concept copies two existing effects in nature; the reflective properties of the ionosphere and desert mirages, and simulates both of these effects by using a high pulsed power laser system and exploiting a physics phenomena called the ‘Kerr Effect’ to temporarily ionise or heat a small region of atmosphere in a structured way.

According to BAE: mirrors, glass lenses, and structures like Fresnel zone plates could all be replicated using the atmosphere, allowing the physics of refraction, reflection, and diffraction to be exploited.