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Boeing Successfully Tests Anti-Missile Laser

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the where-was-gary-sinise-the-whole-time dept.

dankinit writes "MSNBC is reporting that a 'Boeing Co.-led team has successfully fired for the first time a powerful laser meant to fly aboard a modified 747 as part of a U.S. ballistic missile defense shield.' The test called 'First Light' has a budget of $474.3 million in the fiscal year 2005 and is part of a larger $10 billion dollar missile defense system."

8 of 868 comments (clear)

  1. First proof of concept. by FiReaNGeL · · Score: 0, Troll
    They proved the laser worked for a fraction of second.

    Now, they still must :

    A- Improve duration & Power
    "In coming months, Englade said, engineers hope to boost the duration and power of the laser's beam.
    Among other technical challenges, Coyle said, engineers must figure out ways to fire the laser for the longer time needed to zap a missile without damaging the optics through which the beam passes -- a kind of technical Catch-22."

    B- Shootdown test... destroy a inflight dummy missile
    It will then be installed on a 747-400F aircraft for a test that includes shooting down a dummy ballistic missile over the Pacific. No date has been set for that test.


    And i guess C, get nuked by someone with the capability (nukes and missile range)... which is... hmmm... the Soviets? Iran? No... North Korea? No... China maybe? Aliens? Terrorists? Anyone?
    --
    Eureka Science News - automatically updated
    1. Re:First proof of concept. by SenatorOrrinHatch · · Score: 0, Troll

      Why do you hate America?

      --
      The Christian in me says it's wrong, but the corrections officer in me says, 'I love to make a grown man piss himself.'
  2. Dome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    Wouldn't it be just as easy to build a dome over the united states? a dome would be just as fesable and make as much financial sense as this missile system.

  3. Re:Are they still.. by AvantLegion · · Score: 0, Troll
    >> Calling it star wars?

    > Yes, except this time, America shoots first.

    I can't decide whether to mod this Troll or Funny.

  4. What a bunch of crap! by mr_angry · · Score: 0, Troll

    This is absolutely ridiculous, and i really think all this money should be invested to help the population. Some people are starving, some people are sick. Why must we all put our money in fucking crap like missiles, anti missiles, going on the moon and shit. Nobody wants to fix things here ?? Kind of like when you're a developer and you find it boring to fix old apps compared to building new apps.

    Help the population, stop spending the money on crap like that. The whole terrorism thing is used by the american administration to manipulate the population...

    10 billions of american dollars, this would help a great deal of people in need of basic things like a home, food and things more important than pr0tact1ng t3h us fr0m t4h m4ss1l3s!

    I have a feeling than in many years ppl will laugh at this whole idea, pretty much like flying cars didn't happen when 2000 came. And the artist's rendition pic on the article page is just pure sci-fi stuff.

    --
    100% of statistics are wrong.
  5. Re:Missile Defense by myowntrueself · · Score: 0, Troll

    "Remember what happened to the technically challenged French in WWII?"

    I dunno, I still believe that the reason the French got 'steam rolled' was because of their love of super rare beef which happens to contain the spores of a brain parasite which slows reaction speeds by as much as 20%.

    --
    In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
  6. Re:i hate to be blunt... by DigiShaman · · Score: 0, Troll

    Personally, I would rather piss on it. *grin*

    --
    Life is not for the lazy.
  7. Re:Can't mention a troll... by True+Grit · · Score: 0, Troll
    How's fishing, buddy? I see you're trolling with artificial lures today. Had any luck?

    Now look who's trolling....