Aircraft-mounted laser weapon may be ready in two years

If the gull-winged drones we checked out a little earlier ever catch on, we've got just the accessory for them: The High Energy Laser Area Defense System (HELLADS), currently under development by military scientists, is a laser weapon that can fit in a fighter jet. The laser is designed to fire in pulses, which allows it to run without a heavy cooling system, and which also, no doubt, allows laser-jockeys to get that rat-a-tat-tat machine-gun feel while using a weapon straight out of sci-fi. Prototype models can fire 1kW pulses, which may not be able to do much damage, but researchers are hoping for a missile-zapping 150 kW version by 2007.

[Via Slashdot]

[Daniel Lovelady @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Very neat, But I'm hoping for the laser that lets us shrink various objects...

http://imdb.com/title/tt0097523/

[Adam @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Looks like the palestinians won't be able to shoot mortars and missiles over the fences, and by 2007!

The Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL) project was only going be online by like 2012, so this is great news for the peace process.

[Shin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

How come I've already seen some laser shooting stuff on TV before. Some guy in a helicopter was shooting red beams in pulses and everything aimed at gets all flamed up and such.

[Soren @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Now what I want is one to mount to the roof-rack on my car so I can pretend to be a fighter pilot and shoot those horrible Illinois drivers out of the sky...way.

[Robin O'Neil @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

I have a very dim, distant memory or a US Airforce project in the early 70's which had a 'high power' laser inside a 7X7, it was eventually scrapped because it wouldn't work at night or go through cloud. I think the plane/project was called the Millenium Falcon.

[Richard @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Close, but not quite there yet. Now when they come out with lasers that I can mount on a sharks head, THEN, I will be impressed.

[Busy Child @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Where is a glammed out Val Kilmer when you need him to increase the laser's output to 150 kW? I guess he got stuck in the 80's.

[PiratePete @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

So if there just making this public now. Think of what they have already developed in secret...

[Daniel David @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

I liked this device more when Val Kilmer built it in Real Genius.

[Dr.Evil Sidekick1 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

frigg'n lasers - someone throw me a frigg'n bone! Sorry I couldn't help myself. The laser project has been worked on for years. And if we (the public) get wind (if you will) of a release time then the project is either completed or in real time (true war, hmmmmm now where could they test this device in a war situation?).

[JB @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Seems to be a great improvment in weapons. Now the only problem left is to build a flying power plant that would hang somewhere behind the jet and feed this 1Kw pulses. Or do they want to make it with AA Batteries?

[Max @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Correct me if I am wrong, but wasnt the Real Genius version 5mW? Whats up with this wimpy 150kW thing? They should have used frozen bromide...but I guess that destroys itself as it lases.

[Conrad Quilty-Harper @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

5mW, as you say would be 5 thousandth of a Watt. That'd be pretty wimpy. 150kW is 150,000 Watts.

I think what you mean is 5MW, which is 5 Mega Watts, or 5,000,000 Watts.

[OddManOut @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

I agree Max. Excited bromide frozen in an argon matrix is the way to go.

Personally I think it will go to about 6MW.

Now we just need a phase conjugate tracking system, a big spinning mirror, and 500lbs of pop corn...

[bunkka @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

I don't know if this is the same thing my friends dad is working on. He works for boeing and they are creating the same type of craft for nukes. It is very intriguing.

[narcszm @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

"I need five megawatts by mid-May!"

-Jerry Hathaway

[Tim @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Robin:

That project exists and is doing well. It was not scrapped. The purpose of those weapons is to knock out MIRV bearing ballistic missiles while they're on their way into space, thus diffusing the situation before it gets to us.

The laser heats up the fuel in the rocket tanks to the point of explosion.

[Fist Of Konshu @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

No problem we'll cover our missles in mirrors.

(badda-bum chink)

[granny down east @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

Hopefully developers will solve problems of laser reflectability. Otherwise your wing man is going to need a hella pair of sunglasses.

[stinky @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

whoa, this is so gonna help planes get away from mothra at the tokyo int'l airport.

[Samuel Lago @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM]

What colour's the lazer? There has to be a blue for the good guys and a red for the bad, so planes don't shoot the wrong ones