http://boeing.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=817
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Sept. 1, 2009 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] and the U.S. Air Force on Aug. 30 defeated a ground target from the air with the Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) aircraft, demonstrating ATL's first air-to-ground, high-power laser engagement of a tactically representative target.
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. 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.
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"The bottom line is that ATL works, and works very well," said Gary Fitzmire, vice president and program director of Boeing Missile Defense Systems' Directed Energy Systems unit. "ATL's components -- the high-energy chemical laser, beam control system and battle manager -- are performing as one integrated weapon system, delivering effective laser beam energy to ground targets."
That sounds interesting. I wonder when the Chinese government will release more details.
How long before they make them small enough for us all to carry around? I want (at least) one!
BTW, nice to see that Obama has cancelled the proposed Czech / Polish part of the ballistic missile defense system. Bush’s missile defense plan was highly unpopular with ordinary Poles, Czechs and Western Europeans, i.e. the very people it is supposed to defend against Iranian missiles…
E.g. when Bush started negotiations with the Polish government in 2007, opinion surveys indicated 57% of the Polish population opposed the plan. Popular opposition in the Czech Republic to the proposed radar installation was even more widespread, with only 15% of the population supporting the initiative while two thirds of the country opposed. There is even a citizen initiative — “Ne základnám - No to Bases” — signed by more than 130,000 citizen which reportedly makes it by far the largest Czech popular initiative since the velvet revolution.
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“A scheme that doesn’t work, against a threat that doesn’t exist, in countries that don’t want it” What’s how Zbigniew Brzezinski described it.
MARCU$