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This technology has been in development for quite some time. I remember reading about this more than 15 years ago in Popular Mechanics. This 747 is tasked with shooting down ballistic missiles during their boost phase, where they are most vulnerable.
Airborne Laser Aircraft Slated to Provide Missile Defense – DefenseLink.mil: A typical-looking 747 — 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.
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 world’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 – technically, a “megawatt-class chemical oxygen iodine laser beam” – to zap the missile until it breaks apart.
All of this is just more saber rattling to impress the tax payer, if no one else. We did learn about the B2 bomber until its funding was threatened. Then, and only then, did Northrop roll it out in some grand show. The SR-71s were kept a secret for years, until spy satellites made them obsolete. Then the posters and toy models came out. It would appear that keeping these things a big secret, no longer flies (pun intended). If you want its steep funding justified, you have to give your Congressman a sexy demo to impress their voters. The Congressman will then be able to rubberstamp its funding, without worring that the public will be erked about paying for something they were never told about. Something that no longer works with the Baby Boomer generation. It only worked with the previous, Cold War duped generation.
Ever since the movie “Stripes”, with its tricked out Army RV (Urban Assault Vehicle) as a joke, is the public buying anymore Top Secret weapons that we can never know about, even after the enemy already has (from day one).
#32, ECA, if you’re referring to the Gary Powers incident in the U2, it was flying only 475 knots top speed, but at a whopping altitude of 70,000 feet, space suit required.
Now if we could get that laser in the equivalent of an SR71 Blackbird, the fastest airplane ever made and one that was *never* shot down, that would be a different story. I’ll bet there’s black research in doing something like this already.
SR-71 pix here (and I’m disappointed it’s in a museum now):
http://www.angelfire.com/oh2/airplane/sr71pics.html
And if you could deploy 10 or more “four sevens” at 600km from a launch site with fighter protection (say over a “friendly country”), good luck on getting a single successful missile launch.
Isn’t armament research fun? 🙂
34,
and russia is HOW BIG??? And the Boosters last HOW long??
Im sorry, it really sounds like a boon doggle.
If you want to fly within 500 miles of many international territoies you will need to get an OK, from other countries to Fly over their land.
AND i dont think the USA Gov. is on the Good side of many of them.
We are talking about somrhing that couldnt shoot accross the entire state of TEXAS, and probably Many other STATES in the USA. And then try to shoot something Down In china, india, russia, and Many other nations, would be like shooting in the dark, at a Burgler.
Will they point the “laser” down and fly slow and low over Iraq?
Now all Dr. Evil needs is a frickin’ big-ass shark so they can strap that laser to its head!
Big-ass fricken sharks with big-ass fricken lasers on their heads would actually be:
Austin Powers IV – the spy who was almost ready for antimissile applications.
I need to work on the title.