Boeing has successfully fired the laser about the ABL aircraft through the onboard laser guidance system.
The key to stopping missile attacks is to be able to target and destroy the missiles in the boost phase of their flight before they can reach the target and cause untold damage. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency has been testing the Airborne Laser (ABL) system for several years now.
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Boeing announced recently that it had successfully completed the
first ground firing of the ABL high-energy laser through the beam control/fire control system. The test was conducted at Edwards Air Force Base and the beam traveled through the fire control system and exited at the nose mounted turret of the aircraft.
Boeing announced in September that it had completed the first test firing of the laser, but the beam was captured by an onboard calorimeter rather than exiting the aircraft. The ground test last week targeted and directed the laser beam from the aircraft to a simulated missile.
Scott Fancher, VP and general manager of Boeing missile Defense Systems said in a statement, "This test is significant because it demonstrated that the Airborne Laser missile defense program has successfully integrated the entire weapon system aboard the ABL aircraft. With the achievement of the first firing of the laser aboard the aircraft in September, the team has now completed the two major milestones it hoped to accomplish in 2008, keeping ABL on track to conduct the missile shootdown demonstration planned for next year."
The next step for the testing program according to Michael Rinn, Boeing VP and ABL program director is an additional series of longer duration laser firings through the beam control/fire system. Rinn said in a statement, "Once we complete those tests, we will begin demonstrating the entire weapon system in flight. The team is meeting its commitment to deliver this transformational directed-energy weapon system in the near term."
The first test of the high-power laser for the ABL system was conducted in 2005 at the System Integration Laboratory at Edwards Air Force Base. The Boeing ABL system was declared
ready for flight tests in 2006. The ABL is installed aboard a modified Boeing 747-400F. The ground tests conducted at the time verified the optical alignment of the components that guide the laser to a target among other things. The first in flight test for the ABL was originally slated for 2008, that test is now expected to happen in 2009.
Boeing is also working on a very
similar project called the Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL). The ATL is designed to be used offensively, whereas the ABL is for defensively destroying missiles. Boeing claims that the ATL is capable of supernatural accuracy and can destroy weapons very near bystanders without causing them harm.
The ATL has been fired from aboard the modified C130 gunship it is housed in, but the laser beam was captured by an onboard calorimeter. The ground firing was conducted in May 2008 with further testing to be conducted. The weapon system is claimed to be able to engage and destroy a massive amount of enemy hardware in convoy in only a 26-second engagement.
Comment: If the secret military projects are years and decades ahead of what is in the public media we can just imagine what wonderful horror lies in store for the human race.
Here are just a few related links on SOTT regarding the military's directed energy weapons:
Boeing ATL Aircraft High-Energy Laser Ground Tested
Army Moves Ahead With Mobile Laser Cannon
US boasts of laser weapon's 'plausible deniability'
Weapons-Grade Lasers by the End of '08?
Airborne laser weapons heating up
Boeing tests airborne laser gun
Laser plane could destroy tanks from 10 miles
Pentagon wants laser attack warnings for satellites
Police, Military roll out Weapons of Mass Distraction
Pentagon investigated lasers that put voices in your head and mimic Schizophrenia
Boeing Conducts Successful Avenger-Mounted Laser Tests
Record power for military laser
New Weapon, Human Tests
Airborne Laser to test-fire in flight
'Star Wars' becomes reality as US unveils laser-equipped 747
Boeing-Led Team Fires Surrogate Lasers From Airborne Laser Aircraft
Administration Conducting Research Into Laser Weapon
Is The U.S. using new experimental "Tactical High Energy Laser" weapons in Iraq?
New weapon could mean the end of collateral damage
Beam weapons almost ready for battle