For the first time, the Boeing Company applied to shoot high-energy laser beams from a C-130H aircraft, thus demonstrating a new technological concept called "Advanced Tactical Laser"
The "Advanced Tactical Laser" (ATL for short) program is funded by the United States Army and is designed to change the concept of modern warfare. At the center of the project is the use of concentrated laser beams to destroy, damage or paralyze enemy targets with minimal peripheral damage both on a conventional battlefield and in urban areas.
The program consists of several stages, first the use of lasers against ground targets, in the next stage similar capabilities were developed against aircraft, the current stage is designed to demonstrate these capabilities from aircraft.
In the demonstrations carried out at the Kirkland laboratories last year, impressive capabilities of the laser systems were demonstrated, including reliable operation in over 50 shots. This year, field tests continued, when Boeing loaded the systems onto a C-130H aircraft and on May 13 performed the first ground shot, a critical milestone in the project.
After further adjustments are made to the laser systems, a shooting test will be carried out from the air towards ground targets. The experimental team fired a laser beam through a special turret in the belly of the plane.
The United States Army invests a lot of money in the development of new weapons systems, the ATL program is one of the many programs in which weapons are developed that are designed to hit the enemy accurately with minimal peripheral damage. The Americans believe that as combat in built-up terrain becomes an integral part of wars, they will have to develop more weapons adapted to this environment.
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Ami:
I don't understand your request.
Why are you asking me to justify the killing of millions of innocents?
You are the one who supports such killing by not being willing to take action to stop it.
Ami Bachar,
I say that maybe we should stop the study of the atomic nucleus and the study of the elementary particles, because it is known that once we know how to channel the strong nuclear power for war purposes we can create a terrible bomb. In general, it is better that we cancel the particle accelerators and stop the study of black holes so that we cannot create a small black hole that could destroy entire regions.
I hate to be cynical, but that's how it is when you have to prove pacifists wrong
From the moment of the shot the plane or even the missile will hardly move, even the plane with the best advantages will not be able to avoid a precise laser cannon.
It doesn't seem to me that it would be effective against missiles or planes that perform evasive maneuvers, it can only be effective against a missile or plane that flies a straight or predictable ballistic trajectory that can be calculated to aim the beam at a stable point on the target.
Just a gut feeling.
If the beam is in the frequency range above X-ray radiation the only shielding is probably a thick layer of lead.
Isn't defending against laser shots relatively easy (mirror or any reflective material?) and if defending is that easy then this weapon is not that effective or maybe I'm wrong!
Michael,
Your arguments are organized and sound logical to me. Only if we can, with your permission, show the direct connection between them and the justification for the mass killing of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians. The "beautification" as you call it, seems to come precisely from the militant-murderous side that you advocate, the one that accepts with open arms (and apparently would happily repeat) the dropping of an atomic bomb among the ranks of the "enemy" civilians. To try and find justifications for the mass murder in seconds of hundreds of thousands of people is Hitlerism, Stalinist, Francoist, Mussoliniist, Mao Zedongist, Kim Il-Sungist, and other such names. Finding a rationale behind the murder of innocents is the first step in the degradation and destruction including human society on Earth.
As someone who is aware of the delicacy of life and the ease with which it can be taken, I hope that scientists in high management positions will have a little more compassion for their fellow humans and that such words that justify mass murder as it was will remain the whimsical reactions of a crowd/minority.
[I didn't say "an ignorant crowd/minority" but that doesn't mean I didn't mean it.]
Greetings friends,
Ami Bachar
People remember the atomic bombs, but forget that number
The dead in the air attacks on Tokyo (using bombs
conventional ignition) was higher.
Ultimately, nuclear weapons brought an era to an end
of wars in Europe - when both sides understood
that they are going to be destroyed - and today, that is also quite a lot.
Ami:
What is so surprising about Aryeh Seter's statement that you find it hard to believe your eyes?
Many claim this claim and it may well be true. It is hard to know, today and in my opinion it is not at all difficult to justify the actions of the Americans even if they preferred a ten times greater death toll as long as their death toll decreases.
All this beautification that means that after World War II it will no longer be legal to do the actions that brought it to an end seems suicidal to me.
Beyond that - a targeted weapon is the exact opposite of a weapon of mass destruction and the connection between the two things stems from the same excessive pacifism. I am also against wars but not so much that I would let someone kill me to prevent a war.
Beyond all this - any technology - as has already been said here - can be used in different ways and also technology that was originally developed for the needs of war can be used for the needs of peace.
I don't think that the scenario shown in several movies, according to which they try to eliminate or deflect an asteroid that threatens to hit the Earth, using an atomic bomb is completely far-fetched and it is certainly possible that one day it will turn out that the atomic bomb will save life on Earth. The same claim is also true for the technology presented in this article.
Hmmm, interesting, Mr. Arya Seter - do you welcome the same atomic bomb of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Are you presenting that historical bombshell as a positive thing? I may not be interpreting the text correctly. The word "without them" equates to a seemingly positive garnet sentence. As if to say that the bombing actually saved lives.
Precisely in this case it cannot be said that a weapon of mass destruction will be developed from it, the opposite is true, this weapon is designed to harm as few people as possible and increase the level of accuracy.
This technology is very important from the future tactical aspect in terms of intercepting ballistic missiles to begin with and then can be used against asteroids or any celestial object that could threaten the Earth.
Satellites can also be dropped this way, which is a bad thing because it scatters a lot of "garbage" in space that can just destroy other satellites that are important.
In the end, each side of technology will always have some disadvantage, but usually the advantages are much greater, unless the technology is inefficient, when I say inefficient technology, I'm usually talking about technology that destroys the environment, i.e. power plants that run on coal, trucks that run on gasoline , but on the other hand, green power plants are generally a good technology.
In the end, my opinion on the subject is that there are undeveloped technologies that have major disadvantages and that we need to focus a lot on, but I don't think that the weapons industries are something that is very bad, in total many technologies in the field of aviation, astronomy, medicine, communication, etc. initially grew out of military developments Anyway, I hope the humans don't lose their rationality in the use of weapons and destroy themselves.
Ami
Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused about two hundred thousand victims. Without them there would have been millions of victims - Japanese and Americans.
This thing can't help us, we don't need more accurate weapons than we have and buying something like this with the aim of reducing the casualties among the enemy is a waste of money. If a country like Iran or a hostile entity like Gaza decides to start a war against the State of Israel, it has to take into account that there will be harm in the battle Its citizens and the more civilians that are harmed in the battle of the enemy, the better and will help to break his morale. This laser system for hitting ground targets is unnecessary. What can be done with such a system is to intercept ballistic missiles like in the Boeing YAL 1 project
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YAL-1
I will demonstrably refrain from participating in the above discussion, with all due respect to those present.
The first evolutionary question that comes to my mind is - are accurate weapons (allegedly and not allegedly) "good for the Jews"? Or good at all. On the face of it, it seems that such a weapon will reduce harm to innocent citizens whose criminal countries are ready to participate in a terrible war instead of sitting at the discussion table and whitewashing the matter with the evil "enemy". Of course, what starts today as an advanced weapon that supposedly protects civilians and brings the army back to the forefront of the battlefield, may (and most likely will) deteriorate into a weapon of mass destruction. Technology is a matter of progress and life always remains delicate.
I wonder what scientists who are engaged in developing weapons for the benefit of their countries say to themselves. Surely they have various agendas complicated by words such as "we will finally be able to hit the Iranians and Hezbollah with launchers on the ground without endangering our soldiers, and prevent the suffering and blood that these terrorists are shedding" and then: Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
How much money and how much blood is being spilled and more will be spilled on this horrible field called war?
yuval
The dilemmas are not the Europeans', and they are not supposed to solve Israel's problems.
The State of Israel must solve its problems by itself, without considering foreign interests!
We will finally be able to hit the Iranians and Hezbollah with launchers on the ground without endangering our soldiers, and prevent the suffering and blood that these terrorists are shedding.
Let's just hope that the laser technology arrives as soon as possible because we will not be able to deal with the threats of urban terrorism for a long time without technologies of the above type.
And maybe the dilemmas of the Europeans and all the good minds at the UN will stop whether to launch military strikes and they will not hesitate to destroy the weapons of armies that have engraved on their flag the destruction of a country like the State of Israel.