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Truck-Mounted Laser Guns

Posted by kdawson on from the sharks-with-wheels dept.

bl8n8r writes "Boeing has announced a contract with the US Army to develop laser cannons that are to be mounted atop 20-ton trucks for the purpose of shooting down incoming artillery, rockets, mortars, or bombs. The High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator project actually shoots stuff instead of just painting a mark on a target for other armament to hit."

3 of 370 comments (clear)

  1. No, not really by everphilski · · Score: 5, Informative

    The range to shoot down a RAM (rocket-artillery-mortar) threat is on the range of a few kilometers. Laser attenuation ovr that short a distance is pretty minimal. My master's thesis was on this concept, but swapping out the laser for a gun-launched projectile... you actually don't need that much focused energy to destroy a RAM threat mid-flight.

  2. Re:They're getting smaller every day. by zamboni1138 · · Score: 5, Informative

    They're still working on the 747-mounted laser.

  3. Re:Dude... by VagaStorm · · Score: 4, Informative
    Because the Geneva Convention states that any country who has signed it is bound by it even if fighting others that have not:
    From http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/FULL/365?OpenDocument

    "Although one of the Powers in conflict may not be a party to the present Convention, the Powers who are parties thereto shall remain bound by it in their mutual relations."
    --
    www.aleo.no