I remember in the early 2000s, Future Weapons showed CGI of 747s being equipped with lasers designed to blast SSBN upon launch, but the power requirements were too high at the time. And then they realized moisture, aka rain, would further reduce its capability to near zero for lasers, and the project disappeared.
Posts: 2134 | Location: TX | Registered: October 28, 2010
The last high energy chemical laser was decommissioned in 2014.
It was the Boeing YAL-1.
I saw that thing at Davis-Monthan back in the early 2010s...it wasn't looking really good then. Kinda sad that they scrapped it...sounds like it was a brand new 747-400F that the Air Force bought specifically for the test. Would have been a cool museum piece at Pima even if it wasn't a viable concept in actual application.
Posts: 9826 | Location: In the Cornfields | Registered: May 25, 2006