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Airborne Boeing Laser Blasts Ground Target

Posted by samzenpus on from the lazlo-approved dept.

coondoggie writes "The airborne military laser which promises to destroy, damage or disable targets with little to no collateral damage has for the first time actually blown something up. Boeing and the US Air Force today said that on Aug. 30, a C-130H aircraft armed with Boeing's Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) blasted a target test vehicle on the ground for the first time. Boeing has been developing the ATL since 2008 under an Air Force contract worth up to $30 million."

2 of 419 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Sigh by Wyatt+Earp · · Score: 5, Informative

    No, permanent blinding weapons are illegal

    Blinding weapons are banned by 1995 United Nations Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzler_(weapon)
    http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/0/49de65e1b0a201a7c125641f002d57af?OpenDocument

  2. Er, not exactly? by Mathinker · · Score: 5, Informative

    From WP:

    The Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) program is a US military program to mount a high energy laser damage weapon on an aircraft, initially the AC-130 gunship, for use against ground targets in urban or other areas where minimizing collateral damage is important. The laser will be a megawatt-class chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL). It is expected to have a tactical range of approximately twenty kilometers and weigh about 5,000â"7,000 kg. This program is distinct from the Airborne Laser, which is a much larger system designed to destroy enemy missiles in the boost phase.