Air Borne Laser is Almost Operational

I just received this, and NO source was cited, so I can't verify it at
all, but it is interesting -- SW
`````````````````````````````````````````````````` ```


The industry Airborne Laser (ABL) team has installed all six Chemical
Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) modules aboard the prototype aircraft
providing its full megawatt-class power laser beam. Northrop Grumman
announced the integration of COIL into the Boeing 747-400F platform is
more than 70 percent complete. The $1.1-billion ABL project aims to
detect, track, target, and destroy ballistic missiles during their
boost-phase. Its revolutionary use of directed energy makes it unique
among the United States' airborne weapon systems, with a potential to
attack at the speed of light at a range of hundreds of kilometers.


The powerful, turret-mounted laser is designed to disable enemy ballistic
missiles during their boost phase by heating a basket-ball sized portion
of the projectile's skin until it buckles. According to Air Force General
Trey Obering III, head of the Missile Defense Agency program, the six
modules, each the size of "a Mini Cooper automobile," and now are ready
"for fully integrated ground testing this summer." This is major step
toward the planned shoot down of a boosting missile in 2009. Because of
it's speed-of-light ability to kill, the ABL is the only system under
testing that is able to detect and engage enemy missiles in their most
vulnerable boost phases.


-- 30 --

On Mon, 10 Mar 2008 21:11:58 GMT, Square Wheels
wrote:


The industry Airborne Laser (ABL) team has installed all six Chemical

snip

So, does anyone know if highly polished aluminum skin has any effect on the
laser?
Cheers,
jc

"Square Wheels" wrote in
message news:yuhBj.68009$w94.42702@pd7urf2no...
I just received this, and NO source was cited, so I can't verify it at
all, but it is interesting -- SW
`````````````````````````````````````````````````` ```


The industry Airborne Laser (ABL) team has installed all six Chemical
Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) modules aboard the prototype aircraft
providing its full megawatt-class power laser beam.

There's a big difference between "operational" and "prototype". Operations
are five or more years away, if ever.

Square Wheels added these comments in the current discussion du
jour ...

I just received this, and NO source was cited, so I can't
verify it at all, but it is interesting -- SW
`````````````````````````````````````````````````` ```


The industry Airborne Laser (ABL) team has installed all six
Chemical
Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) modules aboard the prototype
aircraft providing its full megawatt-class power laser beam.
Northrop Grumman announced the integration of COIL into the
Boeing 747-400F platform is more than 70 percent complete.
The $1.1-billion ABL project aims to detect, track, target,
and destroy ballistic missiles during their boost-phase. Its
revolutionary use of directed energy makes it unique among
the United States' airborne weapon systems, with a potential
to attack at the speed of light at a range of hundreds of
kilometers.


The powerful, turret-mounted laser is designed to disable
enemy ballistic missiles during their boost phase by heating a
basket-ball sized portion of the projectile's skin until it
buckles. According to Air Force General Trey Obering III, head
of the Missile Defense Agency program, the six modules, each
the size of "a Mini Cooper automobile," and now are ready "for
fully integrated ground testing this summer." This is major
step toward the planned shoot down of a boosting missile in
2009. Because of it's speed-of-light ability to kill, the ABL
is the only system under testing that is able to detect and
engage enemy missiles in their most vulnerable boost phases.

I didn't really believe the disinformation about needing to kill
a satellite falling out of orbit. So, Reagan's SDI is alive and
well 25 years later, huh?

--
HP, aka Jerry

"Surely you can't be serious! And don't call me Shirley!" - from
the movie "Airplane!"

John Smith added these comments in the current discussion du
jour ...

A few years ago I had the opportunity to see the ABL at an
airshow. The crew was on-hand to answer questions.
I asked one of the operators how they were going to vent the
heat generated by the chemical lasers?
His response at that time was that they were still working on
solving that problem.

Assuming that ABL had weapons potential then, do you really think
he'd have told you the truth, assuming he even knew? I'm not a
conspiracy believer but I'd have to believe that something as
powerful as the Enterprise's main phasor banks would likely be a
Top Secret defense initiative.

--
HP, aka Jerry

"Surely you can't be serious! And don't call me Shirley!" - from
the movie "Airplane!"

Alan Erskine added these comments in the current discussion du
jour ...

I just received this, and NO source was cited, so I can't
verify it at all, but it is interesting -- SW
`````````````````````````````````````````````````` ```

The industry Airborne Laser (ABL) team has installed all six
Chemical
Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) modules aboard the prototype
aircraft providing its full megawatt-class power laser beam.

There's a big difference between "operational" and
"prototype". Operations are five or more years away, if ever.

True, true, true. But, at one time, people said your blood would
boil if you went 60 mph in a car. And, prior to Chuck Yeager in
1947, people believed that the speed of sound was a barrier that
couldn't be crossed. Someday, the speed of light will be exceeded,
it just can't be as simple as Einstein made it out to be. So, maybe
5, maybe 20 years but I would certainly believe that ABL or
something like it could be an operational weapon. Unless you
believe in UFOs ...

--
HP, aka Jerry

"Surely you can't be serious! And don't call me Shirley!" - from
the movie "Airplane!"

"Square Wheels" wrote in
message news:yuhBj.68009$w94.42702@pd7urf2no...

"...each the size of "a Mini Cooper automobile," and now are ready..."

Is that the original Mini Cooper S, which was a mini car, or the laughingly
named BMW Mini Cooper, which is the size of a small house?

On Tue, 11 Mar 2008 02:21:13 +0000, HEMI-Powered wrote:

Square Wheels added these comments in the current discussion du
jour ...

I just received this, and NO source was cited, so I can't
verify it at all, but it is interesting -- SW
`````````````````````````````````````````````````` ```


The industry Airborne Laser (ABL) team has installed all six
Chemical
Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) modules aboard the prototype
aircraft providing its full megawatt-class power laser beam.
Northrop Grumman announced the integration of COIL into the
Boeing 747-400F platform is more than 70 percent complete.
The $1.1-billion ABL project aims to detect, track, target,
and destroy ballistic missiles during their boost-phase. Its
revolutionary use of directed energy makes it unique among
the United States' airborne weapon systems, with a potential
to attack at the speed of light at a range of hundreds of
kilometers.


The powerful, turret-mounted laser is designed to disable
enemy ballistic missiles during their boost phase by heating a
basket-ball sized portion of the projectile's skin until it
buckles. According to Air Force General Trey Obering III, head
of the Missile Defense Agency program, the six modules, each
the size of "a Mini Cooper automobile," and now are ready "for
fully integrated ground testing this summer." This is major
step toward the planned shoot down of a boosting missile in
2009. Because of it's speed-of-light ability to kill, the ABL
is the only system under testing that is able to detect and
engage enemy missiles in their most vulnerable boost phases.

I didn't really believe the disinformation about needing to kill
a satellite falling out of orbit. So, Reagan's SDI is alive and
well 25 years later, huh?

Oh, happy cynic that I am (and having studied it a bit), I suspect this
concept/project probably predates SDI by quite a few years....

I have seen films of ground-based lasers shooting down drones at
great distances quite easily, 'way back in the '70s.

"Old projects never die, they just have their budgets cut....."

And you never know what the Shunkworks folks are doing until they've
succeeded at something -- and maybe not even then!


SW

On Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:46:43 +0000, Square Wheels wrote:

Shunkworks

I really typed that, didn't I?

Let's try Skunkworks instead.....

Square Wheels wrote:
On Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:46:43 +0000, Square Wheels wrote:

Shunkworks

I really typed that, didn't I?

Let's try Skunkworks instead.....



What's worse is that we all read 'Skunkworks'.



Paris in the
the spring



--

Cheers

Dave Kearton