The U.S. military is gearing up
to test what might be the ultimate version of laser tag.
With a successful
ground test in the bag, the Missile Defense Agency is pushing forward with plans
for an Airborne Laser (ABL), a Boeing 747 freighter
aircraft with a laser-tipped nose designed to destroy ballistic
missiles as they rocket through the sky.
The defense
system's primary
weapon -- a megawatt-class chemical laser beam --
passed an initial ground-based test last week and a number
subsystems have been integrated into the ABL aircraft, Missile
Defense Agency (MDA) officials told SPACE.com. If all goes well, a
integrated prototype of the Airborne Laser will soon be shooting down missiles
in tests over the Pacific Ocean.
"This is a
wonderful moment for the Missile Defense Agency and the proponents of a
ballistic missile defense around the world,"
said Col. Ellen Pawlikowski, ABL program director, during a
Nov. 12 statement announcing the successful ground-firing.
Under development since 1996,
the $1.1-billion ABL project aims to use a powerful, turret-mounted laser to
disable enemy ballistic missiles during their boost phase by heating a
basket-ball sized portion of the projectile's skin until it buckles.
Because of it's speed-of-light
ability to kill, the ABL is the only system under testing that is able to detect
and engage enemy missiles in their most vulnerable boost phases, MDA
Airborne Laser officials said in response to written questions.
The Missile
Defense Agency and U.S. Air Force is working in tandem with Boeing, Northrop
Grumman and Lockheed Martin to develop the flying laser system. Boeing is providing the aircraft, battle
management and system integration, while Northrup Grumman has developed the laser and
Lockheed Martin the weapon's flight turret.
Some ABL developers have said integrated flight tests could occur
by the end of the year. In
a Nov. 12 announcement, MDA officials said tests of the ABL's
main laser would take several months, as engineers fine-tune the weapon and
work to increase its firing time.
Lasers in the sky
While the
primary weapon behind the ABL missile defense system is its Chemical, Oxygen,
Iodine Laser (COIL), the aircraft is equipped with three other lasers
and six infrared sensors that detect, track and target enemy targets. None
of the ABL lasers -- including its primary weapon -- are visible to the naked eye, though
MDA officials said they could be imaged in the infrared
spectrum.
Six COIL modules -- each the size of
a Chevy Suburban sport utitlity vehicle set on end -- work together
to produce ABL's megawatt energy beam, which set fire to dust particles as
it burned into a metal wall during a Nov. 10 ground test at Edwards Air Force
Base in California. The entire test lasted just a fraction of a
second.
"What's
important is that the COIL produced photons," Pawlikowski said. "This proves
the laser hardware is ready to go."
The COIL system is fueled by a
syrupy mix of hydrogen, oxygen and salts that combine to make Basic Hydrogen
Peroxide, a volatile compound about 20 times more viscous than water, MDA
officials said.
Battle management
Picking the most threatening target from a group of missiles, destroying
it and moving on to the next one during a battle would have to occur faster than
human gunners could operate, MDA officials said.
MDA designers anticipate enemy
missiles to travel an average of about 4,000 miles (6,437 kilometers) an hour,
and require a firing system capably of destroying those targets from distance of
100 miles (160 kilometers).
Instead, a
computerized battle management system developed by Boeing controls the
system, with human weapons crewmembers setting operational limits and
providing any necessary mission modifications in flight. The system has
successfully tracked Minutemen 2 and Lance missiles, as well as the afterburner
plumes of F-16 jets.
MDA officials said the first ABL
aircraft will serve as a research and development prototype, though it may have
some "residual operational capability" once testing is
complete.
Building the
turret
Once ground tests are completed,
the COIL modules will be installed in the aft end of the ABL aircraft, which
Boeing engineers have extensively modified to handle the missile defense system.
MDA officials said aircraft engineers left almost no part of the freighter
untouched during its two-year refitting.
Perhaps the aircraft's most
noticeable outward change to Boeing's 747-400 freighter is the bulbous turret
that houses a 5-foot (1.5-meter) telescope serving as the exit point for
the ABL weapon.
Designed to
whip around and target enemy missiles, the ball-shaped turret is 10 feet (3
meters) in diameter and housed in an assembly that stretches 14 feet (4.2
meters) long, said Paul Shattuck, ABL technical lead at Lockheed Martin, in a
telephone interview.
Composite materials keep the turret's weight to about 11,000 pounds
(4,989 kilograms) which while heavy is much less than if
it were built out of aluminum or other traditional aircraft materials, he
added.
"This is all first-of-a-kind
hardware," Shattuck said. "I'm excited and I can't wait to get it in the
air."
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