Air Borne Laser is Almost Operational

[Square Wheels[_5_]]

I just received this, and NO source was cited, so I can't verify it at
all, but it is interesting -- SW
`````````````````````````````````````````````````` ```


The industry Airborne Laser (ABL) team has installed all six Chemical
Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) modules aboard the prototype aircraft
providing its full megawatt-class power laser beam. Northrop Grumman
announced the integration of COIL into the Boeing 747-400F platform is
more than 70 percent complete. The $1.1-billion ABL project aims to
detect, track, target, and destroy ballistic missiles during their
boost-phase. Its revolutionary use of directed energy makes it unique
among the United States' airborne weapon systems, with a potential to
attack at the speed of light at a range of hundreds of kilometers.


The powerful, turret-mounted laser is designed to disable enemy ballistic
missiles during their boost phase by heating a basket-ball sized portion
of the projectile's skin until it buckles. According to Air Force General
Trey Obering III, head of the Missile Defense Agency program, the six
modules, each the size of "a Mini Cooper automobile," and now are ready
"for fully integrated ground testing this summer." This is major step
toward the planned shoot down of a boosting missile in 2009. Because of
it's speed-of-light ability to kill, the ABL is the only system under
testing that is able to detect and engage enemy missiles in their most
vulnerable boost phases.


-- 30 --

[jc[_4_]]

On Mon, 10 Mar 2008 21:11:58 GMT, Square Wheels
> wrote:


>The industry Airborne Laser (ABL) team has installed all six Chemical

<snip>

So, does anyone know if highly polished aluminum skin has any effect on the
laser?
Cheers,
jc

[Alan Erskine[_3_]]

"Square Wheels" > wrote in
message news:yuhBj.68009$w94.42702@pd7urf2no...
> I just received this, and NO source was cited, so I can't verify it at
> all, but it is interesting -- SW
> `````````````````````````````````````````````````` ```
>
>
> The industry Airborne Laser (ABL) team has installed all six Chemical
> Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) modules aboard the prototype aircraft
> providing its full megawatt-class power laser beam.

There's a big difference between "operational" and "prototype". Operations
are five or more years away, if ever.

[HEMI-Powered[_2_]]

Square Wheels added these comments in the current discussion du
jour ...

> I just received this, and NO source was cited, so I can't
> verify it at all, but it is interesting -- SW
> `````````````````````````````````````````````````` ```
>
>
> The industry Airborne Laser (ABL) team has installed all six
> Chemical
> Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) modules aboard the prototype
> aircraft providing its full megawatt-class power laser beam.
> Northrop Grumman announced the integration of COIL into the
> Boeing 747-400F platform is more than 70 percent complete.
> The $1.1-billion ABL project aims to detect, track, target,
> and destroy ballistic missiles during their boost-phase. Its
> revolutionary use of directed energy makes it unique among
> the United States' airborne weapon systems, with a potential
> to attack at the speed of light at a range of hundreds of
> kilometers.
>
>
> The powerful, turret-mounted laser is designed to disable
> enemy ballistic missiles during their boost phase by heating a
> basket-ball sized portion of the projectile's skin until it
> buckles. According to Air Force General Trey Obering III, head
> of the Missile Defense Agency program, the six modules, each
> the size of "a Mini Cooper automobile," and now are ready "for
> fully integrated ground testing this summer." This is major
> step toward the planned shoot down of a boosting missile in
> 2009. Because of it's speed-of-light ability to kill, the ABL
> is the only system under testing that is able to detect and
> engage enemy missiles in their most vulnerable boost phases.
>
I didn't really believe the disinformation about needing to kill
a satellite falling out of orbit. So, Reagan's SDI is alive and
well 25 years later, huh?

--
HP, aka Jerry

"Surely you can't be serious! And don't call me Shirley!" - from
the movie "Airplane!"

[HEMI-Powered[_2_]]

John Smith added these comments in the current discussion du
jour ...

> A few years ago I had the opportunity to see the ABL at an
> airshow. The crew was on-hand to answer questions.
> I asked one of the operators how they were going to vent the
> heat generated by the chemical lasers?
> His response at that time was that they were still working on
> solving that problem.
>
Assuming that ABL had weapons potential then, do you really think
he'd have told you the truth, assuming he even knew? I'm not a
conspiracy believer but I'd have to believe that something as
powerful as the Enterprise's main phasor banks would likely be a
Top Secret defense initiative.

--
HP, aka Jerry

"Surely you can't be serious! And don't call me Shirley!" - from
the movie "Airplane!"

[HEMI-Powered[_2_]]

Alan Erskine added these comments in the current discussion du
jour ...

>> I just received this, and NO source was cited, so I can't
>> verify it at all, but it is interesting -- SW
>> `````````````````````````````````````````````````` ```
>>
>> The industry Airborne Laser (ABL) team has installed all six
>> Chemical
>> Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) modules aboard the prototype
>> aircraft providing its full megawatt-class power laser beam.
>
> There's a big difference between "operational" and
> "prototype". Operations are five or more years away, if ever.
>
True, true, true. But, at one time, people said your blood would
boil if you went 60 mph in a car. And, prior to Chuck Yeager in
1947, people believed that the speed of sound was a barrier that
couldn't be crossed. Someday, the speed of light will be exceeded,
it just can't be as simple as Einstein made it out to be. So, maybe
5, maybe 20 years but I would certainly believe that ABL or
something like it could be an operational weapon. Unless you
believe in UFOs ...

--
HP, aka Jerry

"Surely you can't be serious! And don't call me Shirley!" - from
the movie "Airplane!"

[Neil Hoskins]

"Square Wheels" > wrote in
message news:yuhBj.68009$w94.42702@pd7urf2no...

"...each the size of "a Mini Cooper automobile," and now are ready..."

Is that the original Mini Cooper S, which was a mini car, or the laughingly
named BMW Mini Cooper, which is the size of a small house?

[Square Wheels[_5_]]

On Tue, 11 Mar 2008 02:21:13 +0000, HEMI-Powered wrote:

> Square Wheels added these comments in the current discussion du
> jour ...
>
>> I just received this, and NO source was cited, so I can't
>> verify it at all, but it is interesting -- SW
>> `````````````````````````````````````````````````` ```
>>
>>
>> The industry Airborne Laser (ABL) team has installed all six
>> Chemical
>> Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) modules aboard the prototype
>> aircraft providing its full megawatt-class power laser beam.
>> Northrop Grumman announced the integration of COIL into the
>> Boeing 747-400F platform is more than 70 percent complete.
>> The $1.1-billion ABL project aims to detect, track, target,
>> and destroy ballistic missiles during their boost-phase. Its
>> revolutionary use of directed energy makes it unique among
>> the United States' airborne weapon systems, with a potential
>> to attack at the speed of light at a range of hundreds of
>> kilometers.
>>
>>
>> The powerful, turret-mounted laser is designed to disable
>> enemy ballistic missiles during their boost phase by heating a
>> basket-ball sized portion of the projectile's skin until it
>> buckles. According to Air Force General Trey Obering III, head
>> of the Missile Defense Agency program, the six modules, each
>> the size of "a Mini Cooper automobile," and now are ready "for
>> fully integrated ground testing this summer." This is major
>> step toward the planned shoot down of a boosting missile in
>> 2009. Because of it's speed-of-light ability to kill, the ABL
>> is the only system under testing that is able to detect and
>> engage enemy missiles in their most vulnerable boost phases.
>>
> I didn't really believe the disinformation about needing to kill
> a satellite falling out of orbit. So, Reagan's SDI is alive and
> well 25 years later, huh?

Oh, happy cynic that I am (and having studied it a bit), I suspect this
concept/project probably predates SDI by quite a few years....

I have seen films of ground-based lasers shooting down drones at
great distances quite easily, 'way back in the '70s.

"Old projects never die, they just have their budgets cut....."

And you never know what the Shunkworks folks are doing until they've
succeeded at something -- and maybe not even then!


SW

[Square Wheels[_5_]]

On Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:46:43 +0000, Square Wheels wrote:

> Shunkworks

I really typed that, didn't I?

Let's try Skunkworks instead.....

[Dave Kearton]

Square Wheels wrote:
>> On Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:46:43 +0000, Square Wheels wrote:
>>
>>> Shunkworks
>>
>> I really typed that, didn't I?
>>
>> Let's try Skunkworks instead.....



What's worse is that we all read 'Skunkworks'.



Paris in the
the spring



--

Cheers

Dave Kearton

[Ron]

"Dave Kearton" > wrote in message
.. .
> Square Wheels wrote:
>>> On Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:46:43 +0000, Square Wheels wrote:
>>>
>>>> Shunkworks
>>>
>>> I really typed that, didn't I?
>>>
>>> Let's try Skunkworks instead.....
>
>
>
> What's worse is that we all read 'Skunkworks'.
>
So true. Am I supposed to blush now that you've caught me?

Ron
--
Non urinat in ventum

[Peter Dohm]

"HEMI-Powered" > wrote in message
...
> Alan Erskine added these comments in the current discussion du
> jour ...
>
>>> I just received this, and NO source was cited, so I can't
>>> verify it at all, but it is interesting -- SW
>>> `````````````````````````````````````````````````` ```
>>>
>>> The industry Airborne Laser (ABL) team has installed all six
>>> Chemical
>>> Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) modules aboard the prototype
>>> aircraft providing its full megawatt-class power laser beam.
>>
>> There's a big difference between "operational" and
>> "prototype". Operations are five or more years away, if ever.
>>
> True, true, true. But, at one time, people said your blood would
> boil if you went 60 mph in a car. And, prior to Chuck Yeager in
> 1947, people believed that the speed of sound was a barrier that
> couldn't be crossed. Someday, the speed of light will be exceeded,
> it just can't be as simple as Einstein made it out to be. So, maybe
> 5, maybe 20 years but I would certainly believe that ABL or
> something like it could be an operational weapon. Unless you
> believe in UFOs ...
>
> --
> HP, aka Jerry
>

I thought believing in UFOs would make "Star Wars" stuff seem *more*
promising...

Peter

> "Surely you can't be serious! And don't call me Shirley!" - from
> the movie "Airplane!"

[Bob Harrington]

"Neil Hoskins" > wrote in
:

>
> "Square Wheels" >
> wrote in message news:yuhBj.68009$w94.42702@pd7urf2no...
>
> "...each the size of "a Mini Cooper automobile," and now are ready..."
>
> Is that the original Mini Cooper S, which was a mini car, or the
> laughingly named BMW Mini Cooper, which is the size of a small house?

I long for a simpler day when everything could be compared to a football
field or a VW Bug...

[Dave Kearton]

Bob Harrington wrote:
>> "Neil Hoskins" > wrote in
>> :
>>
>>>
>>> "Square Wheels" >
>>> wrote in message news:yuhBj.68009$w94.42702@pd7urf2no...
>>>
>>> "...each the size of "a Mini Cooper automobile," and now are
>>> ready..."
>>>
>>> Is that the original Mini Cooper S, which was a mini car, or the
>>> laughingly named BMW Mini Cooper, which is the size of a small
>>> house?
>>
>> I long for a simpler day when everything could be compared to a
>> football field or a VW Bug...


Hey, it's still the same football field, only now it's metric.




--

Cheers

Dave Kearton

[Andrew Chaplin]

"Dave Kearton" > wrote in message
.. .
> Bob Harrington wrote:
>>> "Neil Hoskins" > wrote in
>>> :
>>>
>>>>
>>>> "Square Wheels" >
>>>> wrote in message news:yuhBj.68009$w94.42702@pd7urf2no...
>>>>
>>>> "...each the size of "a Mini Cooper automobile," and now are
>>>> ready..."
>>>>
>>>> Is that the original Mini Cooper S, which was a mini car, or the
>>>> laughingly named BMW Mini Cooper, which is the size of a small
>>>> house?
>>>
>>> I long for a simpler day when everything could be compared to a
>>> football field or a VW Bug...
>
>
> Hey, it's still the same football field, only now it's metric.

Not in North America. NFL fields are still 100 yards from goal line to goal
line, and 53.33 yards from side line to side line
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football#Field_and_players); CFL
fields, 110 and 65 yards
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Canadian_football_field.png).
--
Andrew Chaplin
SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO
(If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.)

[Dave Kearton]

Andrew Chaplin wrote:
>> "Dave Kearton" > wrote in message

>>>
>>> Hey, it's still the same football field, only now it's metric.
>>
>> Not in North America. NFL fields are still 100 yards from goal line
>> to goal line, and 53.33 yards from side line to side line
>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football#Field_and_players);
>> CFL fields, 110 and 65 yards
>> (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Canadian_football_field.png).
>> --
>> Andrew Chaplin


<<heavy sigh>> I know, it was only wishful thinking....



Went to the hardware store last weekend, needing a handful of bolts - at
least 65mm long before the thread starts.


The only brand they had were 'Zenith' and they were in inches. I
suspected that 2 3/4" would do the trick, head scratching didn't help and
had to find a steel ruler to confirm it.



I realised the US would probably never fully accept metrification when I saw
Spock on Star Trek refer to a new M-class planet they were orbiting -
reading out it's mass in "metric tons...."




--

Cheers

Dave Kearton

[Neil Hoskins]

"Bob Harrington" > wrote in message
...

>
> I long for a simpler day when everything could be compared to a football
> field or a VW Bug...

Ah yes. Or if you work in microelectronics, you can forget about thou, mil,
microns, or nanometers, because as far as the popular press is concerned,
everything is measured in units of 'the thickness of a human hair'.

[Dave Kearton]

Neil Hoskins wrote:
>> "Bob Harrington" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>
>>>
>>> I long for a simpler day when everything could be compared to a
>>> football field or a VW Bug...
>>
>> Ah yes. Or if you work in microelectronics, you can forget about
>> thou, mil, microns, or nanometers, because as far as the popular
>> press is concerned, everything is measured in units of 'the
>> thickness of a human hair'.


Or the engineering adaptation of the hair measurement, the 'BCH'.



--

Cheers

Dave Kearton

[Square Wheels[_5_]]

On Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:35:48 +0000, Neil Hoskins wrote:

>
> "Bob Harrington" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>
>> I long for a simpler day when everything could be compared to a football
>> field or a VW Bug...
>
> Ah yes. Or if you work in microelectronics, you can forget about thou, mil,
> microns, or nanometers, because as far as the popular press is concerned,
> everything is measured in units of 'the thickness of a human hair'.

"I think my hair is thinning....."

"Well, who wants fat hair?"

-- Spike Jones routine

[Dave Kearton]

Jumpin Jahosaphat wrote:
>> On Mon, 17 Mar 2008 22:34:28 +1030, Dave Kearton wrote:
>>
>>> Neil Hoskins wrote:
>>>>> "Bob Harrington" > wrote in message
>>>>> ...
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I long for a simpler day when everything could be compared to a
>>>>>> football field or a VW Bug...
>>>>>
>>>>> Ah yes. Or if you work in microelectronics, you can forget about
>>>>> thou, mil, microns, or nanometers, because as far as the popular
>>>>> press is concerned, everything is measured in units of 'the
>>>>> thickness of a human hair'.
>>>
>>>
>>> Or the engineering adaptation of the hair measurement, the 'BCH'.
>>
>> No that's RCH (or Royal)



You obviously have a higher security clearance than me.




--

Cheers

Dave Kearton

[Jumpin Jahosaphat]

On Mon, 17 Mar 2008 22:34:28 +1030, Dave Kearton wrote:

> Neil Hoskins wrote:
>>> "Bob Harrington" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>
>>>>
>>>> I long for a simpler day when everything could be compared to a
>>>> football field or a VW Bug...
>>>
>>> Ah yes. Or if you work in microelectronics, you can forget about
>>> thou, mil, microns, or nanometers, because as far as the popular
>>> press is concerned, everything is measured in units of 'the
>>> thickness of a human hair'.
>
>
> Or the engineering adaptation of the hair measurement, the 'BCH'.

No that's RCH (or Royal)

[Bob Harrington]

"Dave Kearton" > wrote in
:

> Andrew Chaplin wrote:
>>> "Dave Kearton" > wrote in message
>
>>>>
>>>> Hey, it's still the same football field, only now it's metric.
>>>
>>> Not in North America. NFL fields are still 100 yards from goal line
>>> to goal line, and 53.33 yards from side line to side line
>>> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football#Field_and_players);
>>> CFL fields, 110 and 65 yards
>>> (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Canadian_football
>>> _field.png). --
>>> Andrew Chaplin
>
>
> <<heavy sigh>> I know, it was only wishful thinking....
>
>
>
> Went to the hardware store last weekend, needing a handful of bolts -
> at least 65mm long before the thread starts.
>
>
> The only brand they had were 'Zenith' and they were in inches. I
> suspected that 2 3/4" would do the trick, head scratching didn't help
> and had to find a steel ruler to confirm it.
>
>
>
> I realised the US would probably never fully accept metrification when
> I saw Spock on Star Trek refer to a new M-class planet they were
> orbiting - reading out it's mass in "metric tons...."

Or the time Spock used the ship's sensors to amplify the sound of a
missing crewmman's heartbeat by "One to the fourth power".

Try explaining that to your Algebra teacher...

[Neil Hoskins]

"Bob Harrington" > wrote in message
...

>
> I long for a simpler day when everything could be compared to a football
> field or a VW Bug...

You'll be delighted to hear, I'm sure, that as the first commercial A380
heads for Heathrow, the BBC man has just announced that its wingspan is
"very nearly the length of a football pitch".