First Light for the new Boeing anti-missile airborne laser
By Joshua Fruhlinger 
posted November 16th 2004 12:20PM
posted November 16th 2004 12:20PM
The Pentagon and Boeing have been working on an anti-missile airborne
laser that's finally achieved "first light" — which basically means it's been switched on for a split second. The
anti-missile laser is slated to eventually be mounted on 747s and is designed to shoot down missiles from hundreds of
miles away. The laser is formed using six identical, pickup-truck-sized, modules linked to fire as a single unit
(wait - isn't that the mega-laser that's mounted on the Death Star?), and the idea is that the system will allow jets
to disable chemical and nuclear missiles before they can arm their warheads, while providing peace of mind for
passenger and military jets.
Near as I can figure, this weapon is useless against missiles. Aside from the problems of using lasers against missiles in general (easily defeated by coutermeasures) the problem with an airborne laser system is that it must be constantly airborne flying within a very limited range of the likely missile launch site. And it must be pointed at the target in a very limited time frame before it gets out of range or angle of attack. Are we going to have airborne lasers flying over North Korea 24/7? I doubt it.
At best this is a program designed to get some ABM money into the Air Force budget and to long-time grifter Boeing. At worst this is a cover for a system designed to attack ground targets, which could violate international law preventing the use of lasers against ground troops.
good timing on this one... the old 'look a new missle busting laser, look at this crazy spaceage technology although this is actually old news and not really very significant as NOTHING has happened yet with it, but we need SOMETHING for our shareholders to take attention from the fact our CEO was found guilty of government payolas yesterday...' trick. Nice
funny how you can't use lasers on people, but you sure as hell can drop a bomb on them...
so much more humane!
at least with a laser we could (theoretically) simply melt exactly what we want to.
Anyone else reminded of Real Genius?
I was thinking of Real Genius, too.
Aw heck, maybe we'll start seeing IBM's made out of chrome now :-).
as if the us cares about international law.
they are killing civillians in iraq on a daily basis.
even if there were terrorists in between them, int. law would still forbid any attack.
but back to the topic: those lasers are surely a rather precise and relatively cheap alternative to common bombs. no more consumable material and it works "hundreds of miles away", so you would never see that airplane comming.
but that was surely never ever in their minds. yeah, sure.
Looks like a promising start to a new weapons platform to me. And as far as at least half of the country is concerned, any improved tool for killing terrorists is OK by us; international law is anoxymoron.
killing for peace is an oxymoron
I agree - it is a promising weapons platform. Considering the Canadians, French and German nimrods don't have the technological (or moral) wherewithall to develop this, let's leave it to the Americans to protect their own.
Thank God we don't need the permission from those UN racists to look to our security.
are they dumb? mad? ok, must be both.
how many 747s were shot down with missles so far? how many passenger aircrafts ever?
US government surly knows how to scare people and use that "fear" to control them.
any tool for killing terrorists is ok with you? are you expecting a terrorist to be inside such a missle, steering it or something?
Don't need UN approval? Just wait till china and india start kicking your butt.
finally, "thank god"? there is no god, you moron from stone age! why don't you grow up?
Actually, there HAVE been several incidents of commercial aircraft being down by missles -
July 27, 1955
Israeli passenger plane shot down above Bulgaria, 58 die
September 5, 1983
Korean Flight 007 - 269 dead (shot down by the Soviets)
2001
Russian passenger Tu-154 airliner hit by the payload of a Ukrainian ground-to-air missile
11/1/00
Russian-built passenger plane exploded and crashed shortly after takeoff Tuesday night in northern Angola, killing all 48 aboard, (cause missle)
Just a few. A Google search should also illustrate dozens of near misses also on commercial aircraft.
BTW, I coudn;t agree more with Phreak's view. The bloody United Nations has coddled terrorists and encouraged those regimes to murder millions.
In any event, any "tool" which kills a terrorist (or anyone giving them aid and comfort, for that matter) is fine in my book.
Stones and nukes included. :)
Chemical lasers have been used to neutralize missiles in the boost phase since the 1970s (look up the Airborne Laser Lab) with the invention of the Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL). It works by heating the casing of the missile and allowing the heated fuel to consume/destroy the rest.
Most ballistic missiles are used for destroying large targets at long distances. This allows a window in the boost phase where the missile is slow and vulnerable to attack.
Hang on... So when the passenger jet gets hijacked, the terrorist is then basically bulletproof?
Would a Relective/Heat absorbing material and a liquid nitrogen circulation system or even better a ceramic heat sheild negate this... and with the advent and eventual prolifieration of scram jet cruise missles make this obsolete before it is deployed
Just a note to the inteligence of the first comment.
First off, I saw video of the test and it works. Actually very well.
To the comment on the first post about the system having a "limited range", or having to aim so quick that it didn't "loose" the target????
Lasers - being made of light - Traveling at the "speed of light" and not being subject to gravity...
Have an infinate range and don't have to worry about a conventional rocket "speeding" away from it.
Come on, think about your posts before you submit.