Airborn Laser successfully fires high-energy laser

[SUBMAN1]

Good deal.

-S

Boeing, Northrop Grumman successfully fire high-energy laser used to kill ballistic missiles - http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/...af389238f3.htm

[Platapus]

it is challenging enough just to get a chemical laser like that to fire in an Aircraft.

Using a chemical laser on a moving platform to hit another moving target will be quite the accomplishment.

[SUBMAN1]

Originally Posted by Platapus

it is challenging enough just to get a chemical laser like that to fire in an Aircraft.

Using a chemical laser on a moving platform to hit another moving target will be quite the accomplishment.

Yep. And if it knocks out even one nuke in its program lifetime, or scares a country into not launching at all, the program as paid for itself 1000x over.

-S

[Letum]

Originally Posted by SUBMAN1

if it knocks out even one nuke in its program lifetime, or scares a country into not launching at all, the program as paid for itself 1000x over.

Well, thats true, although the cynic in me thinks it may be just as effective in encouraging other countries to have more, or more advanced nuclear delivery
systems. Such is the nature of arms races since the first time proto-man chucked a
rock at the caveman sleeping with his wife. Inventing the shield may have made
chucking rocks much less successful, but it was never going to stop conflict for long;
as there was still something to fight about.


I'm not saying it's a bad thing or a good thing, just another step in the endless
arms race.
You are certainly ****ed if you have no rocks and no shield, but it takes more
having such things to avoid conflict altogether.

[Spoon 11th]

How Can the Laser Drill Solve Our Energy Crisis?
Drill Geothermal Wells to Produce Cheap Electricity

http://geologyecology.suite101.com/a..._energy_crisis

[silentrunner]

I wonder if I can get one of those things for a Cessna

[Digital_Trucker]

Originally Posted by silentrunner

I wonder if I can get one of those things for a Cessna

Or maybe for an F-150?

Will a laser-based missle defense shield be all that effective in preventing already-fired missles from causing damage? Or is that the whole point of putting the shields in Europe, is so that they don't have a chance to come near the US in the first place?

[geetrue]

Russia is using a hel program whatever that is ... you have to scroll down to the bottom and back up again to find it;

Almaz-Antey High Energy Laser Directed Energy Weapon: http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-DEW-HEL-Analysis.html