Imagine this plane with a laser beam attached to it
In 2009 Boeing created a cargoplane that had a laser beam mounted on it. The type of plane is a C-130H. This thing is nuts. It is supposed to be able to pick a target from literally miles away and melt or make it explode with a huge laser beam. I couldn’t believe it when I read this cool article on popsci.com. This is the kind of thing that I would expect to see in a science fiction movie. But I guess this airplane/laserbeam combo is real. It is supposed to be able to melt tanks! Now that’s impressive. This is a more precise weapon than a big bomb because it uses a computer to target specific things. There is less collateral damage. I personally think this is a great idea. WE DEFINITELY NEED MORE LASER BEAMS. When I read that American companies are mounting giant chemical based laser beams on cargo planes I felt both proud and at-ease. Proud because lasers are the future, in both medicine and warfare. And I felt at-ease because I’m glad
we got the laser beams first.
The whole idea of putting a laser on a airplane that is combat effective does several positive things. First and foremost it pushes the envelope on multiple technologies at the same time. For starters mounting a huge laser is a tricky endeavor because big lasers are generally pretty heavy. Also making a laser that is powerful enough to do serious damage is an excellent feat of engineering. This type of technology could easily be adapted for other non-military purposes. These could include space based lasers or advanced laser communication and energy transmission. It is forward thinking like the Advanced Tactical Laser that is paving the way for more advanced and powerful technology.
Another interesting thing about the Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) is that it is supposed to be able to fire both lethal and non-lethal attacks. So if you needed air support in a situation you might be able call in an ATL and stun your enemies. What if your commander had more than one ATL under his command and was able to corral a large force of enemies into a confined space using non-lethal laser fire and then dispatch them with a critical strike? There’s a lot you could do with an ATL.
Since the space program hasn’t been getting a whole ton of attention lately since the funding got pulled back, it is really good to see that there are advanced technological innovations happening in the military. I wonder if the ATL could be adapted to having different modes of beam-fire-focus so it could penetrate hardened targets like bunkers.
Here are the multiple sources used in making this article:
C-130H Laser Gunship Program begins, by Mike Hanlon-Gizmag.com : http://www.gizmag.com/go/5118/
Advanced Tactical Laser, on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Tactical_Laser
How It Works: The Flying Laser Cannon, on POPSCI.com, by Eric Adams: http://www.popsci.com/node/19965
-Tyler
