[Lonesome in Massachussets]

This is a fantastic accomplishment. Can you cite a more direct source? Some questions:

What was the wavelength? Visible light doesn't propagate through rain, fog and dust. Was it long wave IR?

Was it radar cued? Lasers sort of suck for searching.

Tropospheric distortion limits the ability to focus lasers, dry desert air is probably the least challenging test. Could this be applied to missile defense? High in the atmosphere, from an aircraft, there is practically no impairments. With enough energy you could burn-up incoming warheads. The enemy might try to cover them with mirrors, but presumably a powerful enough laser would just burn through the mirror. What if they launch corner reflectors on the same trajectory? Just speculating.

Any Freepers care to comment?

[Citizen Tom Paine]

Fire control radars installed on US Navy ships in the early 50s could track projectiles, come up with a fire control solution using mechanical special purpose computers, and shoot several rounds at a projectile in flight.

I would judge today that improved existing systems have a high probability of hitting and destroying an incoming supersonic target.

What have you done for the fleet today?

[archy]

Was it radar cued? Lasers sort of suck for searching.

A TPQ-36 (V) counterbattery radar doesn't though [Tipsy 33 in my day]. And the lasers can then give precise distance information for not only perfectly directing a more powerful laser against the incoming projectile/s, but can also automatically transmit the digital information to counterbattery artillery for return fire so that a second incoming round or rounds won't likely be fired.