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The AC-130J Gunship's First Solid State Laser Weapon Has Arrived For Testing
The War Zone ^ | OCTOBER 8, 2021 | THOMAS NEWDICK AND JOSEPH TREVITHICK

Posted on 10/08/2021 10:03:43 AM PDT by Yo-Yo

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Popcorn!


1 posted on 10/08/2021 10:03:43 AM PDT by Yo-Yo
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To: Yo-Yo

I have a test area in mind. Rio Grande Valley.


2 posted on 10/08/2021 10:04:58 AM PDT by rktman (Destroy America from within? Check! WTH? Enlisted USN 1967 to end up with this? ๐Ÿ˜•)
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To: Yo-Yo

3 posted on 10/08/2021 10:06:09 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (China is like the Third Reich. We are Mussolini's Italy. A weaker, Jr partner, good at losing wars.)
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To: Yo-Yo

You know, I have one simple request. And that is to have gunships with frickin’ laser beams attached!


4 posted on 10/08/2021 10:09:56 AM PDT by MNJohnnie (They would have abandon leftism to achieve sanity. Freeper Olog-hai)
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To: Yo-Yo

And next thing you know they will use it on homeschool parents.


5 posted on 10/08/2021 10:14:27 AM PDT by lurk ( )
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To: rktman

I was so lucky to be stationed in the Army where the AC-130 would routinely have live fire exercises. My buddies actually called in airstrikes danger close which saved them in combat.The B-52,A-10 and AC-130 are aircraft that are pure American military excellence.


6 posted on 10/08/2021 10:20:27 AM PDT by shanover (...To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.-S.Adams)
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To: lurk
In one scenario ... an AC-130J armed with a high-energy laser could be used to pick out and destroy an electrical transformer, the engine of a pick-up truck, communication equipment, and a parked drone.

โ€œWithout the slightest bang, whoosh, thump, explosion, or even aircraft engine hum, four key targets are permanently disabled,โ€ ... Minutes later, the team emerges from the compound, terrorist mastermind in hand. A successful raid.โ€


Why can't they aim it at the terrorist mastermind's head and cook his brains instead?
7 posted on 10/08/2021 10:21:58 AM PDT by Frohickey
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To: shanover

Yup! Danger close is not a call you ‘want’ to make since there’s no such thing as “friendly fire”.


8 posted on 10/08/2021 10:24:09 AM PDT by rktman (Destroy America from within? Check! WTH? Enlisted USN 1967 to end up with this? ๐Ÿ˜•)
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To: Yo-Yo

You better pray there never is a civil war. Our side would definitely be outgunned.


9 posted on 10/08/2021 10:27:00 AM PDT by hardspunned (former GOP globalist stooge)
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To: Yo-Yo

LOL. My first reaction too. Great “easy going” movie.


10 posted on 10/08/2021 10:28:18 AM PDT by Cboldt
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To: Yo-Yo

If the size and weight requirements continue to fall on this curve it should be possible to put laser systems on large drones. You could then swarm the drones and synchronize them to concentrate their individual beams on a common target.

I’m also interested in technologies for tuning specific laser frequencies to the chemical energies that catalyze detonation of modern ordinance like shells or hand grenades. If you can use the enemy’s own weapons to destroy them you eliminate their ability to counterattack and save money as well. Win-win.


11 posted on 10/08/2021 10:28:40 AM PDT by Dave Wright
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To: Yo-Yo

L[[which could give these aircraft a unique capability to engage ground targets silently and stealthily]]

One of tne strong points of the gunship was the sound of devastation as it brrrrrttt’ed, bringing with it the sound of death and destruction from th3 skies. Enemies said they feared the sound, knowing it could be the last thing they heard, and that it struck fear in them.

Maybe hit first with the silent lasers, then bring in the big guns to mop up,and send fear to the enemy who are nearby for double the impact. Hope,they don’t get rid of the big guns altogether.


12 posted on 10/08/2021 10:31:51 AM PDT by Bob434
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To: lurk

Good thing they did not use them on the Jan 6 crowd at the Capitol.


13 posted on 10/08/2021 10:39:39 AM PDT by 353FMG
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To: lurk

Good thing they did not use them on the Jan 6 crowd at the Capitol.


14 posted on 10/08/2021 10:40:24 AM PDT by 353FMG
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To: Yo-Yo

The ideal candidate for an airborne laser: a NUCLEAR powered aircraft!


15 posted on 10/08/2021 10:42:44 AM PDT by Don W (When blacks riot, neighbourhoods and cities burn. When whites riot, nations and continents burn.)
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To: Yo-Yo
Solid State Laser Weapon

I prefer the tube capacitor laser weapons. It just doesn't sound the same without the pops and hisses you get from analog weapons systems.

16 posted on 10/08/2021 10:49:21 AM PDT by monkeyshine (live and let live is dead)
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To: Yo-Yo

How many of these are we going to give to the Taliban? Asking for a friend.


17 posted on 10/08/2021 10:59:43 AM PDT by VRW Conspirator (Socialism should more accurately be called Sociopathism)
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To: Yo-Yo

The C-130 has been a real workhorse for a long time. I remember the early 60’s when some C-130s were converted into flying telemetry rooms at Patrick AFB, Florida. The whole interior was sound proofed and filled with the latest missile tracking equipment where several Nasa techs would sit and track the missile launches from Cape Canaveral.


18 posted on 10/08/2021 11:05:40 AM PDT by Colo9250 (Demand justice for Ashley Babbitt.)
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To: hardspunned
You better pray there never is a civil war. Our side would definitely be outgunned.

That's why the Taliban were so easy to defeat. Now that they have been vanquished by the high tech weapons we deployed in Afghanistan that country has a wonderful liberal government.

19 posted on 10/08/2021 11:06:58 AM PDT by freeandfreezing (Do I need the sarcasm tag for that last sentence?)
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To: Dave Wright
If the size and weight requirements continue to fall on this curve it should be possible to put laser systems on large drones. You could then swarm the drones and synchronize them to concentrate their individual beams on a common target.

One thought is to convert the F-35B from a STOVL into a laser platform. Remove the lift fan, and use the engine PTO to turn a generator and laser housed in the lift fan cavity. The laser can extend below the aircraft through the existing lift fan air exit on the bottom of the F-35B.


20 posted on 10/08/2021 11:08:34 AM PDT by Yo-Yo (is the /sarc tag really necessary?)
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