C-130H Laser Gunship Program begins

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - C-130H Laser Gunship Program begins

Posted: 1/30/2006 3:46:28 PM EDT

link

"January 30, 2006 Boeing Missile Defense Systems (MDS) has taken delivery of a U.S. Air Force's C-130H transport aircraft to begin preparations for the creation of the first airborn laser gunship under the Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) program. Boeing will modify the aircraft to enable it to carry a high-energy chemical laser and battle management and beam control subsystemsand is expected to begin flight testing the aircraft by mid-year with all subsystems on board except the high-energy laser. A low-power surrogate laser will stand in for the kilowatt-class, high-energy laser. As if the existing “Super Spook” AC-130U Gunship isn’t frightening enough, the ATL gunship will offer speed-of-light, engagement capability with absolute surgical precision. One of the great strengths of ATL is that it avoids the collateral damage sometimes associated with such traditional weapons as bombs and missiles."

Wasnt this an '80's movie with Val Kilmner?

Posted: 1/30/2006 4:32:24 PM EDT

[#1]

Quoted: Wasnt this an '80's movie with Val Kilmner?

Yeah, but the USAF is already working on the 747 version to shoot down ballistic missiles. This one is for zapping bad guys next to "sensitive" areas.

Posted: 1/30/2006 4:34:52 PM EDT

[#2]

tag

Posted: 1/30/2006 4:36:15 PM EDT

[#3]

I've always wondered just how a high powered laser would act on a human body.

I don't think it would burn them, I think the heat would instantly turn all liquid in the body into steam, popping them in a hot spray of hot human drizzle in the air.

Posted: 1/30/2006 4:37:30 PM EDT

[#4]

Quoted:
www.gizmag.com/pictures/hero/5118_30010691624.jpg

link

"January 30, 2006 Boeing Missile Defense Systems (MDS) has taken delivery of a U.S. Air Force's C-130H transport aircraft to begin preparations for the creation of the first airborn laser gunship under the Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) program. Boeing will modify the aircraft to enable it to carry a high-energy chemical laser and battle management and beam control subsystemsand is expected to begin flight testing the aircraft by mid-year with all subsystems on board except the high-energy laser. A low-power surrogate laser will stand in for the kilowatt-class, high-energy laser. As if the existing “Super Spook” AC-130U Gunship isn’t frightening enough, the ATL gunship will offer speed-of-light, engagement capability with absolute surgical precision. One of the great strengths of ATL is that it avoids the collateral damage sometimes associated with such traditional weapons as bombs and missiles."
Wasnt this an '80's movie with Val Kilmner?

cough, cough.. bull shit.. cough, cough..
ever hear of Turbulence? sure, i bet they can zap a barn just like a minigun can but picking someone out of a group is a joke.

Posted: 1/30/2006 4:38:59 PM EDT

[#5]

Quoted:

cough, cough.. bull shit.. cough, cough..
ever hear of Turbulence? sure, i bet they can zap a barn just like a minigun can but picking someone out of a group is a joke.

Ever heard of active adaptive optics? Guess not, look it up, its what enables things like the ABL and this to work.

Posted: 1/30/2006 4:40:36 PM EDT

[#6]

Quoted:
Quoted:

cough, cough.. bull shit.. cough, cough..
ever hear of Turbulence? sure, i bet they can zap a barn just like a minigun can but picking someone out of a group is a joke.

Ever heard of active adaptive optics? Guess not, look it up, its what enables things like the ABL and this to work.

yes i have. i just don't think it works as well as some people say.

Posted: 1/30/2006 4:43:03 PM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:
Quoted:

cough, cough.. bull shit.. cough, cough..
ever hear of Turbulence? sure, i bet they can zap a barn just like a minigun can but picking someone out of a group is a joke.

Ever heard of active adaptive optics? Guess not, look it up, its what enables things like the ABL and this to work.

what he said.

although as a side now, I believe they would need something along the lines of a nuclear reactor to power a laser of the magnitude that it takes to cut through the gasseous air and still have enough energy to melt a human or car. It takes alot of energy, I wonder how they are planning on for that.

Posted: 1/30/2006 4:43:17 PM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:

cough, cough.. bull shit.. cough, cough..
ever hear of Turbulence? sure, i bet they can zap a barn just like a minigun can but picking someone out of a group is a joke.

Ever heard of active adaptive optics? Guess not, look it up, its what enables things like the ABL and this to work.

yes i have. i just don't think it works as well as some people say.

One of my professors would beg to differ, he has a PhD in laser physics, and worked on the ABL for several years. He seems convinced through empirical evidence that it "works". Talk to the astronomers that have built telescopes using the technology to see how well it works.

Posted: 1/30/2006 4:46:20 PM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:

although as a side now, I believe they would need something along the lines of a nuclear reactor to power a laser of the magnitude that it takes to cut through the gasseous air and still have enough energy to melt a human or car. It takes alot of energy, I wonder how they are planning on for that.

Chemical lasers, they use chemicals to generate the power, and relatively low amperage to actually get the reaction started. The chemicals are depleted during the shot and have to be replaced each time. I think the ABL (with a much bigger laser) has enough chemicals for 20 or so shots.

Posted: 1/30/2006 4:49:48 PM EDT

[#10]

chemical laser eh...hmmm. Sounds neet.

Posted: 1/30/2006 4:56:40 PM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:
Quoted:
www.gizmag.com/pictures/hero/5118_30010691624.jpg

link

"January 30, 2006 Boeing Missile Defense Systems (MDS) has taken delivery of a U.S. Air Force's C-130H transport aircraft to begin preparations for the creation of the first airborn laser gunship under the Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) program. Boeing will modify the aircraft to enable it to carry a high-energy chemical laser and battle management and beam control subsystemsand is expected to begin flight testing the aircraft by mid-year with all subsystems on board except the high-energy laser. A low-power surrogate laser will stand in for the kilowatt-class, high-energy laser. As if the existing “Super Spook” AC-130U Gunship isn’t frightening enough, the ATL gunship will offer speed-of-light, engagement capability with absolute surgical precision. One of the great strengths of ATL is that it avoids the collateral damage sometimes associated with such traditional weapons as bombs and missiles."
Wasnt this an '80's movie with Val Kilmner?

cough, cough.. bull shit.. cough, cough..
ever hear of Turbulence? sure, i bet they can zap a barn just like a minigun can but picking someone out of a group is a joke.

Yeah, God knows the Air Force will never be able to point lasers at anything from an A/C.

Posted: 1/30/2006 4:58:06 PM EDT

[#12]

So can it cook my steaks from the air?

(or maybe an entire cow at once?)

Posted: 1/30/2006 4:59:17 PM EDT

[#13]

DOOOOOOOPPPPPPP!!!!!!

C-130H Laser Gunship Program begins

Posted: 1/30/2006 5:00:51 PM EDT

[#14]

Everyone knows that the C130 is the real hoax. I mean, its wings don't even flap. how could it possibly fly?

Posted: 1/30/2006 5:06:25 PM EDT

[#15]

Dupe

Posted: 1/30/2006 5:16:23 PM EDT

[#16]

Quoted: chemical laser eh...hmmm. Sounds neet.

Yep, just imagine the amount of energy in a gallon of gas. This is a different reaction to generate a heating/cutting beam! Hey, maybe the byproducts of the reaction will restore the ozone layer as an added bonus.

Posted: 1/30/2006 5:22:46 PM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:
Quoted: chemical laser eh...hmmm. Sounds neet.
Yep, just imagine the amount of energy in a gallon of gas. This is a different reaction to generate a heating/cutting beam! Hey, maybe the byproducts of the reaction will restore the ozone layer as an added bonus.

COIL lasers are cool stuff indeed, check it out:

Laze and Blaze

At the heart of the ABL is the megawatt-class Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser. When reviewing potential laser systems to be used on the ABL, the COIL was selected specifically because of the numerous advantages offered by the beam's wavelength. At 1.315mm, the beam is relatively unaffected by atmospheric conditions, and is relatively small when compared with other high-powered lasers, which makes it easer to focus on distant targets. In addition, very little of the beam's energy is absorbed by fused silica (the medium through which the beam is projected through the modules), while metals readily absorb it. This means that not only will little of the beam's energy be lost as it is projected through the long axis of the ABL aircraft (which will also have the benefit or reducing thermo-optical beam degradation), but much of it will be readily absorbed by the metal skinned rockets the laser is being shot at.

Since the ABL, as the name implies, is an airborne system, a non-conventional (and non-nuclear) power supply was needed. Rather than rely on batteries, capacitors, electric generators or really long extension cords, the COIL is powered by liquid chemicals and ionized gas. First tested at the Kirtland AFB Phillips Lab in 1977, the COIL, now being built by Northrop Grumman Space Technologies, uses atomized liquid hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and potassium hydroxide (KOH) -- - essentially beauty salon highlighter and Liquid Plumber -- - and chlorine gas (CL2) to form an energized (ionized) form of oxygen known as singlet delta oxygen (O2(1D).) SDO, in turn is mixed with molecular iodine gas (I2) to form ionized iodine gas. As the ionized iodine gas returns to its resting state it releases a photon pulsing at 1.315mm. As the photons are released, they are collected and amplified by a pair of parallel laser cavity mirrors and finally discharged as a pulse of coherent light. When finally installed, the COIL will consist of six individual lasing modules (each weighing 4,500 pounds, and as big as a panel van) linked in series (so that the beam from one module can be amplified further as it passes through subsequent modules.)

To properly mix the chemicals to produce enough photons to be effective, the SDO and iodine mixture is injected into the lasing cavity at a near supersonic speed (the turbine-like pump that performs this task is small enough to fit on an office desk and can fill a typical backyard pool in less than 10 minutes.) To reduce weight and chemical waste, unused H2O2 is recycled until exhausted. The byproducts from this beam generation process are harmless heat, potassium salt, water, and oxygen.

The Big Eye

There's no argument that the COIL can do its job -- - in December of 2003, a ground test utilizing a single COIL module generated 118% of anticipated power -- - but generating a megawatt rated pulse of light is meaningless if it isn't pointed in the right direction. That's where the ABL's 7-ton nose mounted mirror turret comes into play. In effect a large (1.5m) two-axis telescope, equipped with a 58.8 inch gold plated primary mirror and a 12.2 inch secondary mirror, the turret has a 120-degree field of view and is protected from the elements by a 1.8m, 330 pound Nose Cone Conformal Window. The NCCW is the largest optical quality domed conformal window ever manufactured and is made from unique materials intended to be "transparent" to the outgoing laser (to reduce the effects of optical distortion).

Courtesy of www.military.com/soldiertech/0,14632,Soldiertech_ABL,,00.html

Posted: 1/30/2006 5:40:45 PM EDT

[#18]

Quoted: The byproducts from this beam generation process are harmless heat, potassium salt, water, and oxygen.

Oh man, the ABL needs a kitchen cabin. Those byproducts can support an extended sortie.

Posted: 1/30/2006 5:45:55 PM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
www.gizmag.com/pictures/hero/5118_30010691624.jpg

link

"January 30, 2006 Boeing Missile Defense Systems (MDS) has taken delivery of a U.S. Air Force's C-130H transport aircraft to begin preparations for the creation of the first airborn laser gunship under the Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) program. Boeing will modify the aircraft to enable it to carry a high-energy chemical laser and battle management and beam control subsystemsand is expected to begin flight testing the aircraft by mid-year with all subsystems on board except the high-energy laser. A low-power surrogate laser will stand in for the kilowatt-class, high-energy laser. As if the existing “Super Spook” AC-130U Gunship isn’t frightening enough, the ATL gunship will offer speed-of-light, engagement capability with absolute surgical precision. One of the great strengths of ATL is that it avoids the collateral damage sometimes associated with such traditional weapons as bombs and missiles."
Wasnt this an '80's movie with Val Kilmner?

cough, cough.. bull shit.. cough, cough..
ever hear of Turbulence? sure, i bet they can zap a barn just like a minigun can but picking someone out of a group is a joke.

Yeah, God knows the Air Force will never be able to point lasers at anything from an A/C.

www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/smart/gbu15.jpg

www-cse.stanford.edu/classes/cs201/Projects/autonomous-weapons/gif/lantirnTAR.gif

ooo owned

Posted: 1/30/2006 5:46:12 PM EDT

[#20]

As a space shuttle door gunner I have been using chemical lasers for years. Not as cool as my phase plasma rifle in the 40 watt range.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - C-130H Laser Gunship Program begins

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