Posts Tagged laser weapons

Directed Energy Weapons

The Navy is putting a lot of money into research and development of laser weapons. What was science fiction 20 years ago should be reality in another 10-15 years.

From Wired’s Danger Room:

The Navy is increasingly excited about building a superpowerful laser to shoot down missiles and rockets that might attack its ships. But don’t expect the long-planned Free Electron Laser weapon to replace the guns the Navy stations on its ships — or to be shipboard for years. And definitely expect the laser to do more than just zap stuff out of the sky.

Full article

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Modified 747 flying to test laser on missile target

Some time between midnight and 4 a.m. Saturday, a modified 747 flying off of the California coast will aim its laser weapon at a missile more than a hundred miles away. The order will be given for the plane to fire a beam of high-powered coherent light. The laser will start burning a hole in the skin of the short-range, liquid-fueled missile as it rises into the sky. Fifty seconds later, the missile will fall into the Pacific Ocean.

That’s if everything goes according to plan, of course.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/08/laser-jet-preps-for-saturday-missile-shootdown/#ixzz0xTuRyxGG

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