Airborne Laser Successfully Tracks, Hits Missile

fructose writes "The Airborne Laser managed to acquire, track, and illuminate a test missile a few days ago. According to the press release, the Boeing plane 'used its infrared sensors to find a target missile launched from San Nicolas Island, Calif ... issued engagement and target location instructions to the beam control/fire control system ... fired its two solid-state illuminator lasers to track the target and ... fired a surrogate high-energy laser at the target, simulating a missile intercept.' The sensors on board the missile confirmed the 'hit.' Michael Rinn, ABL's program director, said, 'Pointing and focusing a laser beam on a target that is rocketing skyward at thousands of miles per hour is no easy task, but the Airborne Laser is uniquely able to do the job.' The next steps will be to test the high-power laser at full strength in flight and do a complete system test later this year. Its success or failure will determine whether the project gets canceled. Looks like the Real Genius fans out there are finally living the dream."

Comments

We do this enough...

[tjstork]

and the biggest strength the U.S. has at its disposal is the good will we manage to generate by helping others and spreading wealth and peace in the world.

The USA has a trillion dollar trade deficit. Every year the USA buys more junk than it can possibly afford, made all over the world. Look at what the good will this has gotten us. Nothing. Germany and Japan and South Korea and China dump all their junk on the USA, and take our market for granted, but what have they done for us lately?

Conversely, the British are in worse shape than we are, but, when push comes to shove, if the USA needs an ally, the British come through.

You know what I think? I think the USA needs to recognize that it has some friends and others are not so much friends, no matter how much money you put on the table, and reprioritize its trade based on that. Don't you think its kinda B.S. that a British or Canadian soldier that actually fights alongside the USA in Iraq or Afghanistan, deserves in peacetime more of a job working for some company that exports to the USA than, say, a South Korean or a German? Certainly the British and the Canadians are no lovers of war but they stood with us and actually have made some real contributions in money and in blood.

If we were really going to do the right thing, we would be importing cars from Britain, not Korea.