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The Army is flight testing helicopter-mounted laser weapons
The US military's experiments shooting lasers from vehicles continue with another important milestone: Laser-equipped attack helicopter fired at targets for the first time. The US Army keeps getting better at nailing UAV targets with ground-based truck lasers, but it's harder to fire accurately from helicopters. Not only does their position fluctuate with airborne conditions, but their whole frame vibrates as their rotors spin fast enough to keep the whole vehicle aloft. Hitting a target almost a mile away from the air, as the Army just accomplished in a New Mexico tests series, is a big deal.
Lockheed Martin's 360-degree laser turret gets cleared for take-off
Lockheed Martin has an affinity for lasers -- that much is apparent. Not satisfied with simply having ground-based energy weapons, though, the outfit has recently tested its airplane-mounted death ray over the skies of America's High Five, Michigan. The Aero-optic Beam Control (or ABC, as its friends are fond of saying) was recently run through its paces to prove airworthiness, among other things. The kicker here is that the laser can rotate 360 degrees and eliminate targets from basically any direction. Yeah. Lockheed says that the turret's been designed to engage bogies at basically any position and there's tech in place to counterbalance any turbulence caused by the protruding sphere (pictured above). The trials aren't done just yet however, and they'll only increase in complexity to further prove the system's military-aircraft mettle as time wears on. So, you know, enjoy hiding out in your secret lair while it lasts.
