Laser Gunship Revealed

Posted by Algonkin in Science & Tech, Weapons & War on December 13, 2007 at 6:44 pm


C-130 Boeing has taken the first step in making the laser gunship a reality by installing the weapon on a C-130H.

Boeing completed the laser installation Dec. 4 at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. The laser, including its major subsystem, a 12,000-pound integrated laser module, was moved into place aboard the aircraft and aligned with the previously-installed beam control system, which will direct the laser beam to its target.

With the laser installed, Boeing is set to conduct a series of tests leading up to a demonstration in 2008 in which the program will fire the laser in-flight at mission-representative ground targets to demonstrate the military utility of high-energy lasers. The test team will fire the laser through a rotating turret that extends through the aircraft’s belly.

ATL, which Boeing is developing for the U.S. Department of Defense, will destroy, damage or disable targets with little to no collateral damage, supporting missions on the battlefield and in urban operations.

Link: defensetech


Previous post
this post? Please Email this               
Next post

Tags: , ,


FUN PRODUCTS FROM THE NEATORAMA SHOP:


COMMENT

13 comments to "Laser Gunship Revealed"

  1. Pudifoot
    December 13th, 2007 at 7:34 pm

    Yay! It finally feels like the 21st century!!!

  2. algonkin
    December 13th, 2007 at 7:37 pm

    I'm sure Ronald Reagan would have been proud of this one

  3. kaloran
    December 13th, 2007 at 8:59 pm

    In the documentary, 'The Panama Deception' an eyewitness said she saw a laser cut right through a vehicle that she was standing next to during the invasion.

    Makes me think that the American military have had these devices a while ago already.

  4. Frito Lay
    December 13th, 2007 at 9:07 pm

    Well, now I know my tinfoil hat goes shiny side out. :-/

  5. Vonskippy
    December 13th, 2007 at 9:22 pm

    @Kaloran

    Very Unlikely (i.e. impossible). The Panama incident happened in 1989, there's no way ANYONE had portable lasers with that type of power.

    Even with todays technology, the laser weighs in at over 12000 pounds (hence the need for a big airplane instead of using sharks).

  6. rob izumi
    December 13th, 2007 at 9:53 pm

    It's just like the movie Real Genius. Hopefully Val Kilmer will be around to save us.

  7. munky
    December 13th, 2007 at 10:22 pm

    .. and I die a little more inside...

    If the Powers That Be would spend a tenth of what they spent developing this horror, we'd kick poverty, global climate change and falling education standards totally.

    Never.
    Fucking.
    Happen.

  8. Dave
    December 13th, 2007 at 11:45 pm

    Take that, alien scum!

    btw munky; the "Powers That Be" have been spending money like drunken sailors on poverty and education for the last 40-plus years, and haven't made a dent in either problem. What makes you think throwing more money at it is going to make a difference?

  9. jd
    December 14th, 2007 at 12:56 am

    what they fail to mention in the article is that the power supply will likely fill the rest of the plane and that it will have a limited firing capacity since firing the laser will completely drain the power supply and leave behind a butt-load of toxic residue.

  10. Lasse
    December 14th, 2007 at 2:13 am

    Boeing is building a death star.

  11. Klink-O
    December 14th, 2007 at 3:25 pm

    @ vonSkippy- the sharks weren't carrying "lasers", they were carrying "Frickin lasers." They are lighter and more compact than standard lasers and are also water proof.

  12. Sid Morrison
    December 14th, 2007 at 4:56 pm

    6'5" Arabs living in the mountains bordering Pakistan & Afghanistan best not leave their caves too often.

  13. Dan
    December 14th, 2007 at 5:12 pm

    Yay! We can kill even more! Ain't we civilized!

    Too bad we can't teach anyone how to fish, farm or get along with their neighbors...


PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT

Neatorama Comment Policy
You don't have to register or login to comment, but it's easier if you do so. Comments aren't censored, but those that are abusive or off-topic may be edited or deleted.


Stay updated on the comments with Comment RSS