SKIRMISHER

Boeing’s spanking new 1-kw solid-state laser is now working. Mounted on a converted Avenger anti-aircraft vehicle, the laser successfully pulverized targets (unexploded mortar shells and unmanned aerial vehicles) in late September, sending Boeing’s people to fits of orgasmic ecstasy.

The modified Avenger system works by aiming a laser beam at a roadside bomb or unexploded ammunition “and then increasing the power until the explosive fizzles out in a low yield detonation,” said Gary Fitzmire, Boeing’s Vice President who is in charge of the Laser Avenger Program.

In the current test, the system was only able to destroy stationery ground targets using its 1kw laser. Boeing is considering the development of an upgraded weapons’ system that will have a shoot-on-the-move capability and the ability to destroy other kinds of targets, including low-flying unmanned aerial vehicles.

link

Stumble it!