Advanced Laser Gunship

Edwards-3.jpg


this is "possibly" one of them... i might be wrong though... it wasn't my find...
 
Well, such a weapon is already being developed to shoot down missiles durring their "boost" phase as part of the missile defence shield. Supposedly it's going really well and will be operational in the near future.

I guess it only stands to reason they'd try it out against ground targets to see if it helps any although I'm unconvinced anything will come out of that.
 
Whispering Death said:
Well, such a weapon is already being developed to shoot down missiles durring their "boost" phase as part of the missile defence shield. Supposedly it's going really well and will be operational in the near future.

I guess it only stands to reason they'd try it out against ground targets to see if it helps any although I'm unconvinced anything will come out of that.
Click to expand...

That's the AirBorne Laserproject mounted on a modified 747. This is a different system altogether. Both use lasers though.
 
I was working on a high power producing dye laser system about 1992 which was mounted on a Humvee. We never reached the power levels to overcome atmospheric loss and divergence but it was impressive anyhow. The chemical compounds used in the cavity of lasers today are much easier to use than dyes. Since the materials don't burn up so quickly by the power source, the output is more consistent and the wavelengths are not attenuated by the same physical problems we were dealing with.
 
Well, I'd like to give you a chance to answer this question then Missileer.

What advantages would using a laser on some 747 against a ground target have over a good GPS/laser-guided smart bomb or B-52 carpet bomb strike?
 
Whispering Death said:
Well, I'd like to give you a chance to answer this question then Missileer.

What advantages would using a laser on some 747 against a ground target have over a good GPS/laser-guided smart bomb or B-52 carpet bomb strike?
Click to expand...

If the laser weapon can minimize collateral damage, then it can be an attractive alternative but that would depend on thenature of the target. Also, aren't there legal restrictions against use of lasers in combat?
 
If they are being used to blind/mame then yes, they are illegal. However I have never heard of any treaties limiting the use of lasers against say missiles or to punch a hole in the armor of a tank.

The Chinese have "guns" that are little more than high powered laser pointers, they claim that they are more humane because they only blind the person for life, not kill them. Those weapons are banned by some sort of treaty or another and the Chinese response is always "Well the Americans are working on lasers to destroy missiles in flight or detect and destoy mines, so why can't we use them to maim a person for life?"
 
Damien435 said:
If they are being used to blind/mame then yes, they are illegal. However I have never heard of any treaties limiting the use of lasers against say missiles or to punch a hole in the armor of a tank.

The Chinese have "guns" that are little more than high powered laser pointers, they claim that they are more humane because they only blind the person for life, not kill them. Those weapons are banned by some sort of treaty or another and the Chinese response is always "Well the Americans are working on lasers to destroy missiles in flight or detect and destoy mines, so why can't we use them to maim a person for life?"
Click to expand...

21_1090465069.jpg

918d.jpg

This is the chinese laser gun for Riot repression.
 
Whispering Death said:
Well, I'd like to give you a chance to answer this question then Missileer.

What advantages would using a laser on some 747 against a ground target have over a good GPS/laser-guided smart bomb or B-52 carpet bomb strike?
Click to expand...

Cheaper, more concentrated damage. Lasers can and will blind most heat seeker warheads in a microsecond. Almost any night viewing device will be blown. Other than that, a Dresden type carpet bombing is hard to beat, especially incindiary.
 
Missileer said:
Cheaper, more concentrated damage. Lasers can and will blind most heat seeker warheads in a microsecond. Almost any night viewing device will be blown. Other than that, a Dresden type carpet bombing is hard to beat, especially incindiary.
Click to expand...

Well, I mean what's the mission profile for a weapon like this? It's stuck on a sitting-duck of a 747 so what's so good about it where you'd want to risk such an expensive defenseless platform to deliver it?

Basically, I'm asking what it does better than our current arsenal, in what situations would you really really want this ground-laser thing? Or is it just kind of a curiosity, "well what if you point it at the ground instead of at the sky?" kind of thing?
 
WD,

This would probably be used to protect against nations like Iran who are trying to develope nukes, they would not likely have more than a handful and this plane can be so far away from the launch site and still be used that it could shoot down the missiles while facing little threat from Iran.

How to deal with a nuclear echange like was feared for so long between the USSR and the USA is another issue, hundreds of planes would be needed and even then they likely couldn'y take out more than half the missiles.
 
Damien435 - I know all about that and have spoken many times on this forum about the US missile shield.

What I was asking is its potential use against ground targets like the origional poster stated.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top