Posted on 08/08/2006 3:46:08 PM PDT by pissant
WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Boeing and the U.S. Air Force say they have achieved major progress in the development of a system to use mirrors to shoot laser beams at missiles.
In a statement Monday, Boeing said it and the Air Force had successfully redirected a laser beam to a target using their Aerospace Relay Mirror System, or ARMS.
The demonstration, conducted recently at U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory facilities at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., used a half-scale version of a system that ultimately could be packaged and carried to high altitudes on airships, long-endurance aircraft or spacecraft, Boeing said.
The payload could be used with airborne, ground-based or sea-based high-energy lasers to destroy ballistic missiles and other targets. Relay mirror systems will greatly enhance laser weapon system performance by reducing the atmosphere's effects on laser beams and extending their range beyond line of sight, the company said.
"This demonstration is a major step in the development of relay technology because it shows that a relay mirror system can receive laser energy and redirect it to a target, extending the laser's range," said Pat Shanahan, vice president and general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems.
During the demonstration, Boeing suspended the 15-foot-high ARMS hardware 100 feet above the ground using a mechanical crane. Testers fired a low-power, sub-kilowatt-class ground laser from several miles away at one of the ARMS payload's two 75-centimeter mirrors. The other mirror relayed the non-lethal beam to a ground-based target board about two miles away from the ARMS.
Boeing began its ARMS work four years ago under a $20 million Air Force contract. Now that the work is completed, the Air Force plans to use the ARMS hardware to establish a permanent test bed for relay system technology development.
Boeing Missile Defense Systems conducts its relay system work through its Directed Energy Systems unit, formerly called Laser & Electro-Optical Systems.
ping
Simply the best. If you have not gone to the Reagan Library, it is an absolute must. A beautiful place that captures the history one of THE most consequential men of the last century.
Ummm, if that is from Weird Science aren't you missing something?
Ronald Reagan's dream coming true, just in time.
Real Genius.
Not a dream, a steely eyed commitment. And the press & the left hated him for this and everything he stood for. Just as much as they hate GWB right now.
If you want on or off my aerospace ping list, please contact me by Freep mail.
That was a scene from Real Genius.Not Wiered Science. That was a fantastic 80's movie.
Frying nukes upon launch. What a great concept. Now if we can test them on Hezbollah demonstrators....
Post 11 was still necessary, IMO.
"You know, I have one simple request. And that is to have sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads!"
/Agree.
Wow!
When fully placed in orbit, this sytem will enable a "shot...'round the world"---at the speed of light---toward any designated target.
Bush could sit in his oval office and simply punch a button for each target, and it (and only it) would be destroyed before the enemy could say WTF.
There's room on Mt. Rushmore for one more.
We could call it "Crossbow..."
I think that is a perfect idea.
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