Boeing completes successful test of air-to-ground laser turret, enemies are teh doomed

It's about time Boeing went and shot that frickin' laser. The Boeing Advanced Tactical Laser C-130H aircraft has completed its first ground test, shooting a high-energy chemical laser through a beam-control system. The gun successfully acquired a ground target and shot the darn thing on August 7, paving the way for an in-air test later this year, hopefully from that bad-ass 747 they've been touting. Boeing promises that the ATL will "destroy, damage or disable targets with little to no collateral damage." Yay for surgical strikes? Maybe some popcorn?

[RyoHazuki @ Aug 14th 2008 9:39AM]

wtf? lasers? O_o

[neofolklore @ Aug 15th 2008 8:25AM]

ENEMY UAV IS ONLINE

[Rick @ Aug 14th 2008 9:40AM]

HAHAHAHA Love the title, picture is perfect

now i want popcorn

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Aug 14th 2008 10:02AM]

Cue teh music..

"Everybody Wants to Rule the World"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ughqjbzx2Fk

[tadghostal @ Aug 14th 2008 10:19AM]

Damn, you beat me to almost the exact same comment :(.

Sad to say, but I only clicked on the article to see what picture Engadget chose to use.

[engadgetier @ Aug 14th 2008 9:41AM]

Thats a beautiful home, it looks an awful lot like, WTF.........

[SoreThumb @ Aug 14th 2008 1:35PM]

Lol.
I think I'm one of the few people who got your joke, too ;D

[FuzzyCat @ Aug 14th 2008 9:43AM]

We now have the technology to hit the wrong target much more accurately.

[Gaz @ Aug 14th 2008 10:27AM]

at least when you hit the Brit friendlies you'll cremate the evidence

[tobias @ Aug 14th 2008 1:36PM]

UK: You hit the friendlies again!! Morons!...
US: Er... it wasn't us... must have them terrorists..
UK: what?! there are alot of terrorists flying around in tricked out 747s with lasers on in their noses are there?

[BigD145 @ Aug 14th 2008 1:40PM]

Exactly what I was thinking, FuzzyCat.

[Dave Chappelle @ Aug 15th 2008 5:07AM]

I am guessing, the wrong target will be a fleet of Airbus A380's. soon the airlines will be the world super powers it will no longer be Capitalist v Communist but two storied vs longer. They will also overpower the banks and take all there monies and then fill the tubes with there media so even when we download movies, there will be BOEING WATERMARKS!! WTF!!. and for the rest of us, has anyone seen teh simpsons episode with the Aliens taking the white house?

soon later Jay's theory of the monkeys taking over, and burrying the statue of liberty in the sand will occur. then it will be 2012.. WHOA.? !!!

[Graham @ Aug 14th 2008 9:45AM]

Real Genius FTW!!!!

Hehe great movie.

"Are you prepared if gravity were to reverse itself? Only thing I can't figure out is how to keep the change from falling out of my pockets... I've got it! Nudity!"

[Tim @ Aug 14th 2008 9:59AM]

Does anyone else smell popcorn?

[Walt @ Aug 14th 2008 11:13AM]

Ice is Nice!

[Cornelius @ Aug 14th 2008 11:31AM]

Kent ... this is God. Stop playing with yourself.

[Scott @ Aug 14th 2008 3:05PM]

"It's times like this that remind me of the immortal words of Socrates when he said, 'I drank WHAT?!?'"

Love that movie; now I'm going to have to look for it on the dollar rack at Best Buy.

[majortom @ Aug 14th 2008 9:45AM]

now there's an old movie. I forget who played the college kid. Was it Val Kilmer?

[Camperton @ Aug 14th 2008 9:52AM]

Yes.

[Moby Disk @ Aug 14th 2008 11:48AM]

Yes, there was only one college kid in that movie.

[BKM72 @ Aug 14th 2008 8:49PM]

Great Movie.!!.....and yea....I think this was the movie that helped jump start his career.

Lazlo....in the closet........LOL.

[John @ Aug 14th 2008 9:48AM]

Yup - Real Genius.

Great Movie

[Xenoterranos @ Aug 14th 2008 9:50AM]

The guys who made that must have been some real geniuses. I bet Batman was involved.

[L @ Aug 14th 2008 9:54AM]

Am I the only one that thinks such lighthearted posts about weapons are completely inappropriate?

[Matt @ Aug 14th 2008 10:06AM]

Yes.

Come on now, it's a damn laser mounted on an airplane. If you can't find comedy in that, you must be a sad, lonely person.

[tadghostal @ Aug 14th 2008 10:23AM]

If you can't see the total friggin awesomeness of a LASER on an AIRPLANE, then why are you reading Engadget?

[zom @ Aug 14th 2008 10:27AM]

rofl, gtfo you hippie

[L @ Aug 14th 2008 10:41AM]

Note to self:

Yeah, seems so.

[JEEPEE @ Aug 14th 2008 2:22PM]

I agree with you !!!
What most lighthearted peaple seem to forget is that this is only the beginning,and some voice deep inside tells me,that once this industry get's this far,there's no whay back,for one simple reason:MONEY !!!
And you,the taxpayer will give it to them,usefull or not.
Hassen't it allways been like that ?????

[whatishalo? @ Aug 14th 2008 11:32AM]

Now lasers on angry sea bass...that would be alarming and NOT grounds for humor

[blade417 @ Aug 14th 2008 1:26PM]

@ 'L'
sounds like you didn't have many friends...

or a sense of humor

Go back to your DeathNote

[L @ Aug 14th 2008 1:45PM]

@blade417, yeah, poor me. I'm *so* lonely because I think weapons are not a funny thing...you really must be an awesome psychologist, knowing me inside-out from just a single post!

[jtc970 @ Aug 14th 2008 4:12PM]

Unfortunately weapons are essential, otherwise the "bad guys" would be breaking things over the heads of the defenseless and we would all be bowing down to them.
This would limit collateral damage, so you should look at it with a different perspective.
This is great news, pinpoint accuracy to get the job done, without blowing up the neighbors.

[Wwhat @ Aug 15th 2008 1:21AM]

Uhm, but jtc970, the bad guys just got an airborne laser, didn't you read the post?

[Dave Chappelle @ Aug 15th 2008 5:16AM]

keep it in ur pants, Padme.

its not that big a deal. its barely a weapon. you seriously think there going to fly over Moscow with this bulbous flying chunk of 747, and expect to kickass.

maybe if it was like the Blackbird with this thing. then we would start building bomb shelters.

[Mark @ Aug 14th 2008 9:56AM]

Kent....Have you been touching yourself???

[drew @ Aug 14th 2008 12:37PM]

It really is god....

[Paul Dullford @ Aug 14th 2008 9:59AM]

Oh great. What's next -- lightsabres?
[computer monitor is sliced in half by lightsabre]
Darn.

[ShadowKain @ Aug 14th 2008 10:00AM]

I swear if this thing knocks over my damn mailbox ill sue those laser'in bastards

[Joe Anstine @ Aug 14th 2008 10:00AM]

f'ing choice. nice work Boeing

[NK @ Aug 14th 2008 10:02AM]

Engadget, SUPER solid work on the picture. Real Genius...this makes my day.

[David Watkins @ Aug 14th 2008 10:24AM]

Hahaha, loved the reference to that movie from the 80s which i sure as hell dont remember the name, nor the context of what goes down in the movie.... but i do remember the popcorn through the roof!
=]

[Redbeaver @ Aug 14th 2008 10:10AM]

totally redefining the phrase "pew pew pew"

[Kizorblade @ Aug 14th 2008 12:06PM]

It's just going to be one bigass PEWWWWWWW now.

[Skyride @ Aug 14th 2008 10:11AM]

Spy 'sappin my laser!

This is awesome.

[Jkgeyti @ Aug 14th 2008 10:13AM]

The interesting part about this laser is obviously its purpose - i mean, what damage can this laser do, that a air to ground missile can't? The keyword is "Plausible Deniability"

Just take a look at page 7 of this briefing:
http://www.nmoia.org/images/NMOPTICS_Briefing_a.ppt

There are three parts who wants to know about an attack:
The attacker, the attacked and the public.

When you use a big fucking laser at something, I'm pretty sure both the attacker and the attacker notices it - no denying there. That leaves the public as the only ones you can plausibly deny it happened to.

...wonderful... a weapon US can use whenever they don't want the public to know they did it. Just when did the US military forget they're the good guys?

[Patrick @ Aug 14th 2008 10:16AM]

Yessss!!! now the US military can go attack all those schools and playgrounds without the damn international media finding out.

[Wes @ Aug 14th 2008 10:20AM]

Hmmm, what can a LASER do that conventional EXPLOSIVE ordnance can't ... I wonder ... Maybe not BLOW UP limiting collateral damage?

[Jkgeyti @ Aug 14th 2008 10:36AM]

Fair, a laser has uses - but that's still besides the point that an offical paper states that the "problems solved" are:

Technology wins wars
Precision
Speed of Light
Collateral Damage
Plausible Deniability
Lethal to Non-lethal
Reduce Manpower Density

Plausible Deniability... "problem solved, guys."

[Suijin @ Aug 14th 2008 11:10AM]

Wait, how could the US deny it was them that used the laser on the target?

I mean who else has a laser attached to an airplane?