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Laser Cannons Coming to an F-16 Near You

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the friggin-lasers dept.

dxprog writes "Reuters is reporting that the US Pentagon is designing a laser cannon that's small enough to fit onto a fighter jet yet powerful enough to knock out a missile. "The High Energy Laser Area Defense System (HELLADS), being designed by the Pentagon's central research and development agency, will weigh just 750 kg (1,650 lb) and measures the size of a large fridge." Now all we need to do is make fighter jets space worthy for that true Star Wars feel."

3 of 757 comments (clear)

  1. What about the Navy? by jkitchel · · Score: 0, Redundant


    Does this mean they will get sharks with fricken lasers on their heads?

  2. Re:Forbidden? by aonaran · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I was just going to say the same thing.

    Laser weapons are a really bad idea.
    All you need to do to defend against them is make your stuff out of something that reflects the laser's wavelength.

    Are we going to see a new era of laser weapons, mirror shields and dead civilians caught by reflections?

  3. Countermeasure.... by GeneralEmergency · · Score: 0, Redundant


    ...reflective missiles.

    --
    "A microprocessor... is a terrible thing to waste." --
    GeneralEmergency