UAV Vulnerability to Lasers: Modeling and Experimental Assessment

Counter-unmanned aerial system technologies based on directed energy require a quantitative understanding of laser propagation and target vulnerability. This work presents a multiscale methodology for continuous-wave laser interaction with UAV components, combining a lumped-capacitance screening model, two three-dimensional thermal models, and an exploratory experimental campaign. The lumped campaign comprised 1350 laser–material–distance combinations and reached the prescribed threshold in 85.0% of cases. The three-dimensional campaigns comprised 160 additional cases. Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) was selected as the representative structural target for the detailed three-dimensional analysis because the lumped screening identified it as one of the most thermally susceptible UAV materials, while also representing a typical polymeric fairing material. The ABS threshold was reached in 95.0% of the three-dimensional cases.For the experimental campaign, the PGL-V-H-1064 laser (Changchun New Industries Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd., Changchun, China) was selected as the available laboratory source. It operates at 1064 nm and its output power was experimentally measured to be approximately 1.0 W. Under the modeled conditions, the PGL-V-H-1064 laser crossed the ABS threshold only at 5 m, after 2.913 s, whereas the equivalent-camera functional threshold was not reached. Experimentally, the PGL-V-H-1064 laser produced reversible dazzling in all tested cameras. RunCam, BetaFPV, and Caddx Ratel 2 cameras showed no permanent damage, whereas a low-cost drone camera was permanently damaged after 120 s at 3 m. Localized damage was also observed on the drone fairing and propeller, with propeller degradation causing loss of flight stability. These results highlight the distinction between temporary optical disruption and permanent thermal or structural damage.