Clowns aren't born, they're made... just like fairies.
Posted on 02/16/2002 4:17:58 PM PST by Pokey78
AMERICA'S enemies will soon face a weapon, once confined to the Star Wars films, that can bring death at the speed of light.
The special operations AC-130 Spectre gunship, whose conventional weaponry has been used to devastating effect since the Vietnam War, is to be fitted with a laser that can shoot down missiles, punch holes in aircraft and knock out ground radar stations.
Despite the successful operations against Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan, the emergence of asymmetric terrorist warfare - attacks such as September 11 where the enemy is unseen - has led the Pentagon to identify the need for a more sophisticated and deadly weapons system.
The next generation gunship, codenamed AC-X and nicknamed 'Son of Spectre' by US defence officials, will carry all the weaponry already used on the AC-130, including twin 20mm Vulcan cannon (capable of firing 2,500 rounds per minute), 40mm Bofor cannon (100 rounds per minute) and a 105mm Howitzer. Its 21st-century addition, however, will be its biggest punch: a chemical oxygen iodine laser (Coil), capable of carrying out lethal and non-lethal attacks.
The advantage of laser weapons is that they strike at the speed of light. In the Coil, the power of a chemical reaction is converted to laser energy, and the weapon can carry on firing as long as its power source is intact.
Paul Wolfowitz, the US deputy defence secretary, has given the go-ahead for the next-generation AC-130, which includes full funding for the "integration of a direct-energy weapon".
The Pentagon is yet to announce when the new laser-equipped "Son of Spectre" will come into operation, but it is understood that the first upgraded version could be involved in military operations within two years.
Although lasers exist that can hit aircraft, disable optically guided missiles and destroy communications lines, the ability to vaporise enemy troops and vehicles Star Wars-style will take a few more years to develop.
The Spectre, flown by the 16th Special Operations Squadron, has a crew of 13, including two observers using television and infra-red images to direct the four gunners on to their target.
Working in pairs, normally providing close air support for special forces ground operations, Spectres can circle targets for hours, pulverising areas the size of football pitches with extraordinary precision.
The Spectre has, however, come to the end of its operational life and further upgrades have been ruled out on cost grounds.
Rob Hewson, the editor of Jane's Air Launched Weapons, said: "The laser will be the atomic weapon of the 21st century. Since the 1970s, US scientists have conducted a series of secret experiments in the Nevada desert using lasers.
"We know that they had lasers capable of causing immense damage but they needed huge power packs. This remains a problem and this is why a laser weapon can only be fitted on an air frame the size of the AC-130. But advances will be made and the power plant will shrink and one day it will dominate the battle field.
"The Americans may already have a very powerful laser weapon far more advanced than we have seen. They have been carrying out research in this field for years but it is a very secret weapons programme and we have no idea how far they have progressed."
Once the Coil and its power plant have been fully developed, the USAF hopes to fit it to a whole range of manned and unmanned aircraft, such as the Predator reconnaissance probe, which is fitted with Hellfire missiles and has been used in CIA operations in Afghanistan.
Lasers could also be used as an additional weapon system to fighters, bombers, helicopter gunships and warships but this is unlikely for a decade.
With really cool names like this we won't have to fight any wars...
Now we need the "Gun of Wiping Out Entire Armies in One Shot," and a few other well named goodies, and we're ready to go.
What do you suggest, airport screeners looking for garish facepaint, smuggled horns, or dare I say it, outright clown-profiling?
Clowns aren't born, they're made... just like fairies.
You need a man for the job!
Anti-grav vehicles. Supposedly some stealth craft have dual types of propulsion/flight systems.
[to those prone to rabid remarks re such--No, thanks, I already have a container full of tinfoil hats. Start your own collection.]
We were, in the late 60's. And by the late 70's to early 80's there was the top of a mountain missing in New Mexico.
Stranger things have happened. . . we shall see.
The technology isn't THAT far out. It's cool stuff, but not beyond comprehension ...and it's all based on foundations of prior discoveries. It's not like this stuff just popped out of the blue for no reason. Discovery was accelerated not by some extraterrestrial beings but by a concept rather new to humankind which blossomed only recently- free speech and the free expression of ideas, freedom of religion, and the protections on private intellectual property- all of which gave an incentive for inventors and companies to share their discoveries by openly publishing them and discussing them, and by selling rights to them. That was a big thing since prior to these concepts coming into practice, guilds worked hard to keep their trade secrets exclusive; scientists and other thinkers could be persecuted as heretics, and designs could be stolen, rather than purchased, and those who had not invented them were able to profit on the scientific work of others by ruining the market for the original discoverer, taking his customers. Reforms in Europe and the birth of America as a country finally got things rolling. The old restrictions fell away and were replaced with a desire for progress- we prospered from it. The US drew the greatest minds and entrepreneurs from all over the world, which in turn feuled even more discoveries. It was only natural that such progress occur exponentially.
The Discovery Channel aired a program a few months ago showing guys shooting prototype lasers and talking about military uses.
Or, at least respect it.
Very interesting, but a little flat for a "Laser of Death" thread.
NOW we're cooking.
Would a laser simply burn off dust on the mirror's surface? And would a powerful laser be more likely to react to blemishes and imperfections in a mirror- if, for example, the mirror was scratched or pocked? Would it then reflect off of the 'good' parts of the mirror but burn into the flaws, possibly warping or destroying the mirror?
I would figure that in order to use a mirror as a 'defense' the mirror would have to completely cover the area you need to protect, otherwise you may be dead before the laser hits the place where you put your mirror... you don't know exactly where the thing is going to be aimed. To use the mirror to actually turn a laser against its operator, you'd have to to hit the plane carrying the laser, not neccessary the exact point where the laser is emitting, nor neccessarily at the same 'power', but at least with enough intesity to blind the aircraft and its crew. But you would also have to have the mirror (or mirrors) aimed at the plane before it fires, because there won't be time when it fires. And you'd have to have your own weaponry in case the plane turns out to be conventional and drawn to your highly polished reflective shell.
It might be easier just to build your own laser and hope you get to fire first.
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