WICHITA, Kan. — The U.S. Missile Defense Agency rolled out an airborne laser aircraft on Friday, the latest development in a missile-defense system that was once ridiculed as a "Star Wars" fantasy.
In a ceremony at the Boeing Co.'s (BA) Integrated Defense Systems facility in Wichita, the agency announced it was ready to flight test some of the low-power systems on the ABL aircraft, a modified Boeing 747-400F designed to destroy enemy missiles.
Lt. Gen. Henry "Trey" Obering III, director of the Missile Defense Agency, said he embraced early critics' comparison of the laser-equipped plane to the "Star Wars" movies.
"I believe we are building the forces of good to beat the forces of evil. ... We are taking a major step in giving the American people their first light saber," Obering told dignitaries and employees gathered for the ceremony.
The laser weapon's system is designed to detect, track and destroy ballistic missiles in their boost flight phase.
It will likely be 2008 before the program is ready to fire at a missile in flight, and it wouldn't be operational until the middle or late part of the decade, he said.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,226207,00.html

Old days

Now

Future

There goes our taxes.....but interesting. heh.

what happens if they put some type of reflective material on the outside of the missle? wouldnt that basically make this obsolete?

It would still absorb enough energy to knock it out of commission.

as with a,ll new technologies it looks big and clumbsy,...but give it time and it'll slimline down a bit and improve alot, this has alot of potential, but since they have announced it now other countries will start working on something to counter this.

I'm no expert on the subject, but mirrors used in laser technology are extremely refined. I'm not sure it would be feasible (or even possible) to put that kind of a mirror on something the size of a missile.

What the Heck? Why the heck did you post a Wallpaper of the Falkan from the action flight sim Ace Combat?

Thats from a video game, not actual military plans, the U.S. government has had no ideas or any plans, close, to the Falkan design.

I denounce that claim, (no offense, honestly)

i think it was meant hipotheticaly....
tell u what tho, the plane does look damn good

I bought it on the game Ace Combat Zero, its more like a spacecraft than a airplane.

where can i get one?