Giant Missile Zapping Laser Strapped to 747, Shark Heads Next
The Airborne Laser program is placing a high-energy, megawatt-class chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL) and highly sophisticated beam control/fire control and battle management systems on a modified Boeing 747-400F aircraft to detect, track and destroy ballistic missiles in their boost phase of flight. ABL also can pass information on launch sites, target tracks and predicted impact points to other elements of the multi-layered global ballistic missile defense system. Boeing is the prime contractor for ABL.
“The Airborne Laser packs extraordinary capability into a 747. The back half of the aircraft will contain the world’s largest mobile laser, which consists of six modules, each the size of a Chevy Suburban sport utility vehicle. The front half already contains the beam control/fire control system, which compares in size and sophistication to the Hubble Space Telescope. “The COIL has already proved in ground tests that it can achieve the duration and power levels needed to destroy a ballistic missile,” said Guy Renard, Northrop Grumman’s ABL program manager. “In 2009, we will demonstrate this capability in the air against an actual boosting ballistic missile.”
[boeing abl | video stream | video download] (77 MB with obligatory cheesy music and V/O)
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