The advantages of RLs over other types of laser systems are provided by high specific and absolute power capacities, which are practically unattainable in other types of lasers, a wide range of radiation wavelengths (from the near ultraviolet region to the infrared), the absence of intermediate steps in energy conversion, and flexibility of control. The consequences of this are a relatively simple construction, compactness and reliability, the system’s high self-containment, operability for 20 years, the potential to develop mobile systems with minimal mass and dimen­sions at a given energy, especially in range of high laser powers. Multiple repeat startups do not require additional fuel, laser materials, or other materials.

Without chemically aggressive media and a large amount of uranium, the RL is safe for storage, use, and the environment. The disadvantage connected with the presence of nuclear radiations during RL operation is sufficiently neutralized by biological protection methods.

Proposals for potential uses of NPLs and RLs already started to appear in the first publications, which discussed the potential for the direct transformation of nuclear energy into a laser radiation. A review [12] gives a list of published works and notes on potential uses for NPLs and RLs. Some noted are:

1. Long distance communication.

2. Energy transfer (obtaining energy for space probes or satellites from generating stations placed on the earth or moon).

3. Photochemistry (for synthesis of chemical compounds on an industrial scale).

4. Fog dispersion (resulting from the evaporation of drops of liquid).

5. Illumination of surfaces (illumination of cities is possible with a stationary orbit).

6. High temperature heating of materials at a distance.

Issues concerning the use of NPLs and RLs in stationary as well as pulsed and pulsed-periodic modes are discussed in almost all reviews (see Chap. 1) and in more detail in specific studies. The following variants have been proposed for using NPLs and RLs:

• To supply energy to satellites and other space objects and stations on the dark side of the moon [19, 38, 39].

• To clean space of “debris” [19, 38, 40, 41].

• Laser drivers to transfer space devices from one orbit to another [19, 42] and delivering loads to a near-earth orbit [19, 43, 44].

• Reactor laser drivers for inertial confinement fusion systems [45—47].

• Heating and processing the surfaces of different materials (welding and cutting, changing surface properties, and deposition of thin coatings) [19, 38].

• Technological processes destined to the production of nanoparticles [19, 38].

• Development of new types of neutron detectors [48, 49], which can be used, for example, in systems for rapid nuclear reactor protection systems [50]. In this case, the detector is a NPL, which is a threshold system actuated at a specific level of neutron flux.

The area of use of an RL depends, naturally, on its characteristics, primarily its power, wavelength, and laser beam divergence, and also on the mode and duration of its operation. At the present time, the most realistic options for RLs with thin films of uranium fuel have an overall efficiency (nrl) with respect to the nuclear energy released in the core that does not exceed 0.4 %: qrl = є x Ці, where є < 20 % is the share of the total energy absorbed in the gas laser medium, and ці < 2 % is the laser efficiency (ratio of output laser power to power deposition in laser medium). To increase Пгі and expand the area of application for RLs, it is necessary to search for more effective laser media in different spectral ranges and for RL designs that have more effective transfer of nuclear energy to the laser media.