Boeing Successfully Tested Laser Cannon
Source: Tom's Guide US | Keywords: Boeing, Laser, Cannon, Test, ATL | Themes: Digital Entertainment, Business
Cyberwars, laser beams, magnetic car engines... the world is coming to an end.
Boeing announced yesterday that it successfully defeated a ground target using its Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) aircraft, marking the ship's first air-to-ground, high-power laser engagement. If the news sounds like something out of science-fiction, think again: Boeing has actually mounted a fully-loaded laser cannon on an airplane. This means that the military could potentially have access to a weapon that can annihilate the enemy without the collateral damage caused by rockets and bombs.
"During the test, the C-130H aircraft took off from Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., and fired its high-power chemical laser through its beam control system while flying over White Sands Missile Range, N.M," Boeing announced in this press release. "The beam control system acquired the ground target -- an unoccupied stationary vehicle -- and guided the laser beam to the target, as directed by ATL's battle management system. The laser beam's energy defeated the vehicle."
Boeing said that the ATL team plans to conduct additional tests to demonstrate the weapon's capabilities for the military, showing off its destructive vaporizing power for conduct missions on the battlefield and in urban operations.
Gary Fitzmire, vice president and program director of Boeing Missile Defense Systems' Directed Energy Systems unit, said that the weapon performed extremely well during the test, and that its three main components--the high-energy chemical laser, beam control system and battle manager--worked correctly in unison to provide an effective laser beam.
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wait, defeated as in melted or blown up?
Quick, I'm going to need a lot of foil and popcorn.
Cool. I guess a lack of collateral damage is a good thing.
wait, defeated as in melted or blown up?
Dried the water after it came out of the car wash.
Question...
How do you "guide" a laser? Don't you aim it... I'm under the impression a laser would be awfully quick, perhaps the speed of... i dunno, light?
""The beam control system acquired the ground target -- an unoccupied stationary vehicle -- and guided the laser beam to the target, as directed by ATL's battle management system.""
Vaporized the target, dumbass.
Once you shoot a laser... It's gone.. there is no guiding a beam of light.
Looks nice but you need to consider all the other details like power source, weight, heat dissipation, and rate of fire. It's a government-funded project so cost doesn't really matter (the money comes from taxpayers and nobody cares what they think).
I think misfires or inaccurate shots would be very bad...
dont touch the frickin laser scott!
"Collateral Damage"
That means killing innocent civilians, for those that haven't served in the military. However, since 2001, most of our "collateral damage" was intentional, and/or we should've never been shooting at it in the first place. We could also GTFO of Afghanistan and Iraq right now, for an incredible 100% reduction in collateral damage. US defense contractors caring about collateral damage, laugable at best... Blackwater's bonus structure is probably based on collateral damage.
Chemical lasers have much more limited use than an electric laser. I like Northrop's offering more. Only weights 15,000 pounds (opposed to 40,000) and is very similar in capabilities.
Funniest part is NG finds the 15,000 pound laser too big.... Yet Boeing gets all high and mighty for putting their, much larger, laser on a plane?
Question... How do you "guide" a laser? Don't you aim it... I'm under the impression a laser would be awfully quick, perhaps the speed of... i dunno, light?""The beam control system acquired the ground target -- an unoccupied stationary vehicle -- and guided the laser beam to the target, as directed by ATL's battle management system.""
Its a continues beam. Hold a flashlight and walk. Now keep the lighted point in the same spot as you walk; this is how the targeting system works. Its not like Star Wars where you have a single pulse but more like burning ants with a magnifying glass and sun light. Actually its exactly like that.
Quick, I'm going to need a lot of foil and popcorn.
Real Genius - Gotta love that movie.
Question...
How do you "guide" a laser? Don't you aim it... I'm under the impression a laser would be awfully quick, perhaps the speed of... i dunno, light?
""The beam control system acquired the ground target -- an unoccupied stationary vehicle -- and guided the laser beam to the target, as directed by ATL's battle management system.""
If I remember correct it first sends out a targeting laser, then secondary laser to compensate for air distortions, then fires the high energy chemical laser. All of this happens in less than a second, if I remember correctly.
When can we expect hand held laser guns?
Take this in context with the year 2000 kill of a Kalushka missle by a vehicle mounted laser @ 10Kw, and it doesn't take a lot of guessing to understand why the DoD just cancelled the balance of F-22's on order. They have something faster, higher, and unmanned folks.
Quick, I'm going to need a lot of foil and popcorn.
And William Atherton.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0040472/
When you "aim" you expect to fire and forget. The beam was a sustained beam not a BAAM FIRED beam like you guys are use to seeing in Star Trek so the laser had to be "re-aimed" in real time, more commonly referred to as guiding.
Next weapons platform? FREAKING SHARKS!
"a weapon that can annihilate the enemy without the collateral damage caused by rockets and bombs"
what if it ... well misses.. will we find holes in mountaines... or crators? or does this even explain the crop fields in the UK? Imagine a building with a hole in..and the gov't announce a 'ooops' .. even worse... terrosits use this? no need to launch rockets.. just sit on the top of your balcony..and target practice? and no evidence left since it 'vaporized'? not good news if you ask me..
Next we need energy shields, you know to counter those lasers, let's see which will be the first company to successfully test those.
weapons of mass destraction?
Next we need energy shields, you know to counter those lasers, let's see which will be the first company to successfully test those.
Like in Halo!
I'll take two.
I suppose the next innovation to these "high energy" chemical lasers is to go green with them?
"The beam control system acquired the ground target -- an unoccupied stationary vehicle"
well thats not really a thorough test, in the real world the vehicles are going to be occupied.
for all they know they could shoot it at a tank, vaporising it but turning its crew in to 50 foot tall super humans... then who's face would be red?
Exoskeleton, laser beam... TERMINATOR!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That could work on a snowman not on a concrete structure!
a picture of the actual car would help
I would like to see the video of this test. That would probably look soooo cool!!
Shields to stop lasers are already in development they use plasma
http://www.space.com/businesstechn [...] 0724.html]
America...FUCK YEAH!
Once you shoot a laser... It's gone.. there is no guiding a beam of light.
You are wrong. It is something that is called a "mirror"