soiarrai Posted June 22, 2007 Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 http://www.defenselink.mil//news/newsarticle.aspx?id=46502 Airborne Laser Aircraft Slated to Provide Missile Defense By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md., June 21, 2007 â?? A typical-looking 747 aircraft on the tarmac here today -- distinguishable from other 747s only by its glass, bulb-shaped nose -- could one day be the silver bullet that shoots ballistic missiles out of the sky. A modified 747 aircraft serves as the prototype Airborne Laser, slated to become an integral part of the U.S. missile defense system. Air Force photo by Bobby Jones (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. But whatâ??s revolutionary about the prototype Airborne Laser aircraft, which arrived last night after its first nonstop cross-country flight, is that it wonâ??t use bullets to take out its target, explained Air Force Col. John Daniels, program director. It will use light. â??What makes this revolutionary is that you can engage targets at the speed of light â?? 186,000 miles per second,â? Daniels said. â??So we can go from New York to Los Angeles before you can blink your eye. Think about that. You canâ??t blink your eye faster than this weapon system or a beam of light goes across the country.â? The Airborne Laser is being developed as an integral part of the ballistic missile defense system to protect the United States, its allies and its deployed troops against a ballistic missile attack, he explained. An advanced detection-and-tracking system, state-of-the-art optics and a high-energy laser would detect a missile launch and track it during the boost phase. The worldâ??s largest turret assembly, encased in the glass-enclosed aircraft nose, would track the missile and determine a precise aim point. A laser would measure disturbances in the atmosphere and adjust the on-board optics to account for them. Another laser would fire a beam â?? technically, a â??megawatt-class chemical oxygen iodine laser beamâ? â?? to zap the missile until it breaks apart. As futuristic as this concept sounds, the Airborne Laser project is moving steadily forward. Flight tests on the Airborne Laser are slated to wrap up this summer at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The chemical laser has had more than 70 successful firings over the past three years, and will be installed aboard the aircraft starting later this year in preparation for the first shootdown of a ballistic missile target, scheduled in mid-2009. â??We are going to put that big laser in the back â?¦ and then weâ??re ready to shoot a missile down,â? Daniels said. â??So itâ??s a pretty exciting time to be on the program. The biggest challenge we have right now is integration. The optics system is working. The battle management system works well. We even tracked an (intercontinental ballistic missile) with the sensors on the airplane. â?¦ The laser works well on the ground.â? Putting all that capability together and having it operate effectively is a much more significant step, he said. â??When you put those big pieces together, and you get the software talking to each other and the systems, thatâ??s not trivial. Itâ??s really an integration challenge,â? he said. â??No miracles are needed, but the integration step is not easy.â? Lessons learned from this initial prototype, with the tail number â??0001,â? will be incorporated into a â??production representativeâ? model that is easier to operate and maintain and less expensive to build, he said. â??Thatâ??s the whole purpose of this plane, to give us those lessons learned so we know what to do different on the second airplane.â? Ultimately, the Air Force hopes to have seven Airborne Laser aircraft. Plans call for them to be based in the United States, at a base with a long runway and the infrastructure needed to support large aircraft, Daniels said. â??But they would be forward-operated, depending upon the threat,â? Daniels aid. â??If you had threats in multiple parts of the world, it is probably commonsensical that a commander may decide to send a few planes one place and a few planes somewhere else.â? Aircraft would take off loaded with enough chemicals that, with aerial refueling, could get where they needed to be quickly and be able to operate for as long as possible. A single chemical load would be able to destroy â??many, many missiles,â? Daniels said. The Missile Defense Agency manages the Airborne Laser program, which is based at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. The Airborne Laser is slated to return tonight to Edwards for more testing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwoww Posted June 22, 2007 Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 So what's the plan? Have a few dozen of these flying permanently around the world? Nice little contract for somebody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 When will it be unleashed on people? And which people? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 When will it be unleashed on people? And which people? Dunno, but I'm quite sure they'll be brown... Regards, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 There goes Condoleeza ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 So what's the plan? Have a few dozen of these flying permanently around the world? Nice little contract for somebody. Probably just copy the Strategic Air Command, which during the Cold War had nuke armed B-52s in the air 24 hours a day. SAC was the work horse of the USAF. Other than these guys and their long hours, the Air Farce was pretty much a soft job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Sure would be .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neo Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Sounds like a ridiculous waste of money. (1) there is no missile threat from anyone. Rogue nations will use cheap, low tech payload delivery (like in a basic truck) that's harder to detect. ICBM's are expensive, publish exactly who did it, from where, and when all captured on satellite with ample warning. (2) it breaks the decades long comfortable balance with the major cold war countries and will force them to upgrade their offensive capabilities to thwart it. It outrages our friends we are doing this. Putin has already made it clear Russia won't stand for this type thing with no respnose. (3) it won't work as well as they chalk it up to be, proving ineffective resulting in an even more outrageusly expensive version 2 program to be embarked upon. (4) there are better uses for the money; use it for relevant military issues, put it back to help against he defecit, give it back to the tax payers. How many billions of this crap until people wake up and say enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCorinthian Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 You sound like Neville Chamberlain in the 1930's. As for the biggest threat right now, I would say it is China. But you can not discount madmen getting elected into office and just taking office and making a big mess of things. Thats what happend in Germany in the 30s and to Russia in the 20s. And there is no predicting that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Wait 'til the mad mullahs take over Pakistan, which has nukes and a delivery system. Not a pleasant thought. (Not really a danger to the West, except the Indians and Israelis would probably nuke Islamabad in a hurry.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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