Airborn bust.............. laser fizzles....

Air Force mobile laser(mounted on a 747 airplane) has failed to engage its second target successfully.
The programm, it seems has been alreadt scaled back somewhat......Does this mean its another boondogle with a hefty price tag?Or is it merely lacking that extra billion of so for fine tuning?
It will be intertesting to see whether this gets quietly scrapoped in the near future, or deployed on a smaller scale than anticipated.

www.globalsecuritynewswire.org...

This program has been a waste since the end of the Cold War, or possibly the invention of the ICBM. The only missile system this device could actually intercept would be a Medium Range Ballistic Missile, which are not particularly widespread anymore. I know the Iranians have developed one, and SCUD launchers are still around, but both of those could be countered with precision high-altitude strike (by MLRS or bomber), or other missile intercept systems such as the Patriot. While it would theoretically be possible to engage an ICBM, this would require the aircraft to be on-station at all times, and this task could be preformed faster, cheaper, more reliably and easier using an Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle.

reply to post by ShadeWolf


The laser is mounted on a 747 jet airliner airframe.
I asume it is able to engage a range of missle threats, though i believe the primary aim was to take down an icbm.
It would be useless from inception if it could not engage mutiple targets anyhow....
The system is very ungainly at present. Taking up the entire capacity of the airliner to operate it.

reply to post by stirling


To be able to intercept an ICBM, it would need to be able to close on it before it reached orbit. Therefore, unless a global autonomous grid of these systems could be created, it would be no use.

Yeah, nowadays it's quite useless