Milestones for US Airborne Laser mapped out (with pics)

[Jeff Head]

The threat of cancellation no longer looms over the Pentagon's Airborne Laser (ABL) effort, but senior program officials say they are taking nothing for granted as they prepare for a missile-intercept demonstration in 2008.

Several clear test milestones have been laid out for the ABL in 2006 so that senior Missile Defense Agency (MDA) officials will be able to measure its progress, according to Air Force Col. John Daniels, the ABL's program director.

The ABL is a Boeing 747 aircraft being equipped with a high-powered chemical laser to destroy ballistic missiles in their boost phase. Boeing Co. of Chicago is the prime contactor on the effort.

More HERE (http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/060322_airborne_laser.html)

http://www.space.com/images/h_abl_inflight_02.jpg
Successful exposure of the laser conformal window during flight in May.

http://www.space.com/images/h_abl_cutaway_02.jpg
Layout of of various systems within the Airborne Laser aircraft.

http://www.space.com/images/h_turretball_window_02.jpg
The Turret Ball Conformal Window on the Flight Turret Assembly for the Airborne Laser.

[MIGleader]

If I remeber clearly, that laser ball was developed by Northrop Grumman. It was classifed as the most powerful laser in the world in the Scholastic Book of world records 2005. pretty impressive. does it protect against SAM's?

[The_Zergling]

Pardon my ignorance, but how the hell does that thing even work anyway?

Obviously the laser will be focused on the target for a certain amount of time in order to destroy it or render it inoperable, but how to go about this?

[Jeff Head]

Obviously the laser will be focused on the target for a certain amount of time in order to destroy it or render it inoperable, but how to go about this?There are actually three lasers. Two solid state illuminator lasers (less powerful). One illuminates the target and the other checks atmoospheric conditions. Then based on that info, the more powerful Chemical Laser hits the target, which is meant to be a boosting balllistic missile...particularly ICBMs.

[Jeff Head]

If I remeber clearly, that laser ball was developed by Northrop Grumman. It was classifed as the most powerful laser in the world in the Scholastic Book of world records 2005. pretty impressive. does it protect against SAM's?It is meant to protect against ICBMs in their boost stage. Clearly as such, it could probably be used against any ballistic missile.

[tphuang]

There are actually three lasers. Two solid state illuminator lasers (less powerful). One illuminates the target and the other checks atmoospheric conditions. Then based on that info, the more powerful Chemical Laser hits the target, which is meant to be a boosting balllistic missile...particularly ICBMs.
This almost sounds like one of those things you watch in a sci-fi movie or James Bond movie in the case of die another day. It's really scary how much the technology has advanced that the BMD can be done this way.

[WEN?]

wow, they acutally made a laser to destroy missles. man that project costs so much. $471.6 million for it. i dun think they will be making to many of them for a while. does anyone know what they are going to use to power the laser??

[jalen911]

my god! so expensive, maybe just US can bulit that weapon。

[Jeff Head]

This almost sounds like one of those things you watch in a sci-fi movie or James Bond movie in the case of die another day. It's really scary how much the technology has advanced that the BMD can be done this way.Pretty impressive advancement...but lets wait until they actually test the chemical laser and actually shoot down a ballistic missile before we know whether or not BMD can actually be done this way.

My guess is that it will and the US will build three or four of these things and develop the force defense strategies to deploy and protect them...a couple in the Pacific and a couple for the other side of the world. We shall see.

[Jeff Head]

wow, they acutally made a laser to destroy missles. man that project costs so much. $471.6 million for it. i dun think they will be making to many of them for a while. does anyone know what they are going to use to power the laser??The details of course are very classified, but it is called a high-power chemcal laser.

Here is an explanation I found...

A chemical laser is characteristically energized by an exoergic chemical reaction which produces the necessary population inversion of lasing species. Based on the enormous chemical energy deposit, several kinds of chemical laser now deliver the cw power outputs of megawatt magnitude, far higher than any other lasers. Accordingly, along with the improvement of gas medium homogeneity and mode-selectivity of the optical cavity a chemical laser has also attained high beam quality of a near diffraction-limited divergence angle.

[ger_mark]

wow, they acutally made a laser to destroy missles. man that project costs so much. $471.6 million for it. i dun think they will be making to many of them for a while. does anyone know what they are going to use to power the laser??

Thats cheap for such a project.

[Vlad Plasmius]

Actually, the laser serves basically as a very large heat ray. That's how most THEL works as well. It heats up the warhead and it esplodes. The fact that it's so freaking huge is because it's a chemical laser, which are very inefficient lasers. They're far more susceptible to atmospheric conditions and require more recharges. THey have about 20 shots before have to refill as I recall, perhaps it was only an estimate. It's more of a token measure than anything else. It would prevent an attack from a minor power, but not even a power like Pakistan or India would be truly threatened by it.

The real question is if this will affect the development of the SBL. SBL would likely involve a 20-satellite defense system that would have 100 shots and be able to switch targets in half a second. In other words, it would be able to shoot down around 2,000 missiles. That would be a far moire effective defense system, especially given that it would hit the weapons right after they launch.

[Jeff Head]

That would be a far moire effective defense system, especially given that it would hit the weapons right after they launch.This system will be a part of an overall system that will rperesent a defense in depth. That overall defensive system will ultimately involve space based, air based, sea based and ground based components.

In addition, the Chemical laser, for this particular airborne application, is a very decent solution. The ABL is not meant to be a complete defense against an attack from a major power...it is meant to enable the US to down onesy twosey missiles from rogue states or terrorists.

[Vlad Plasmius]

The ABL is not meant to be a complete defense against an attack from a major power...it is meant to enable the US to down onesy twosey missiles from rogue states or terrorists.

There is still an issue of range. COIL is often weakened by the atmosphere so it will lessen the range.