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OMG the US Air Force can fire Lasers at targets!!!
- Thread starter Tilpots
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Air Force, Boeing test laser weapon
Video and article.
Holy! This is exciting and scary at the same time. From the video, I couldn't detect a laser visually, the car just started burning.
That's amazing to me. I know we've had powerful lasers around for awhile, but I've never, ever seen one shot from a moving plane with the sole intent of damaging it's target. Now I have, and that could be one super nasty weapon...
Old news to me, they've been working on this for years. You can run out of missiles and bullets, but a laser can keep firing as long as you have power....
Someone else may have mentioned this but they've been wanting to mount a powerful laser on an aircraft, also as a means of shooting down in bound ballistic missiles.
Obama and congress have the power to stop the research and development of this technology.
Seems to me that the fighter pilots/gunners would have to aim very carefully in order to prevent triggering the warhead accidentally, which in the case of a nuclear weapon would cause an electromagnetic pulse that would render electronics (including that of the fighter jet) useless for hundreds of miles.
I think it's an infrared laser, so you should be able to see some scattering from the atmosphere through a thermal imager.
They are working on a solid state laser but this one is chemical so I imaging you can run out of that. But I'm sure the solid state one if it works will need a long time to "charge" so you prolly can't fire it constantly even if you have a lot of electricity.
The Airborn Laser is the missle defense one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airborne_Laser
White Sands. What an interesting place.
I like Area 51 myself. I still remeber those UFO sitings TV shows that show pictures of weird black triangles flying in formation that must be aliens because it's impossible with human technology.
william sire
macrumors regular
Too bad it doesn't have a sound. Also I would like to see a hand held version that shoots the laser out about 2 1/2 or 3 feet and stop and you can deflect things like bullets and other lasers too. Plus have a cutting ability.
It just needs a catchy name and people would buy it.
It just needs a catchy name and people would buy it.
The problem with weapons like this, and missile defence in general, is that the solution for attacking nations is to simply build and fire more missiles. Even if the missiles do not have warheads, overwhelming the defence is likely to be enough to increase the chance that those that do have warheads will hit their targets.
Still, America would not be America without misguided defence spending.
-trule
Actually, Russia, those with the arsenal most likely to be fired at the US has utilized the dummy warheads since the late '70's at least. And unlike the proposed "Star Wars" program, the Airborn Laser is designed to cook the booster of the ICBM before the warheads deploy. Therefore there is no dealing with the MiRVS at all.
And the Brits would be speaking German.
The US spends a MASSIVE amount of money on Defense (note spelling) and it's worked. When diplomacy ultimately fails, the next level of protection is stopping nuclear weapons before they hit their intended targets. It's programs like this one that could save millions of lives. It's also a great deterrent so that a country never fires a missile at us in the first place.
And when the US creates defensive technology, our allies, like those in the UK, are usually a major beneficiary.
69 posts and not one Real Genius reference.
<sigh> I'm getting old...
I mean c'mon, the laser aperture on the airplane looks just like the one in Real Genius! Popcorn anyone?
<sigh> I'm getting old...
I mean c'mon, the laser aperture on the airplane looks just like the one in Real Genius! Popcorn anyone?
when i saw this i thought of sharks with laser beams. but yes i have heard of the is before, i think they use it to target missiles while in the air. they also have a searchlight sized laser on a hummer to use in the field, it takes about 2 hrs to charge after use.
That makes sense.
You only get the energy out that you put in, minus resistance.
I have seen a very nice hum-v RPG defense system, where there is an attachment to to the roof and it will detect one as it is about to hit the vehicle and wil lend a laser shooting downward and significantly reduce the damage caused by like 85%.
And for people who want a nicec hand held lazer, I would recommend wickedlasers.Com. They have the most powerful legal laser (1watt). And it's very cool, I actualy posted a thread here on it (the closest thing to a lightsaber).
And for people who want a nicec hand held lazer, I would recommend wickedlasers.Com. They have the most powerful legal laser (1watt). And it's very cool, I actualy posted a thread here on it (the closest thing to a lightsaber).