ABL Shoots Down Target

[OVERLORD_CHRIS]

[quote] Feb 12, 2010




By Amy Butler abutler@aviationweek.com

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency

[Craig.]

At what point do they then start considering it a ground based system?

[specter177]

At what point do they then start considering it a ground based system?

Already have. Boeing is working on putting a solid state lase on a Hummer.

[Craig.]

What I mean is, when this becomes a legitimate defense option. At what point do they start replacing on mass things like the sam sites and such protecting airbases, Washington and so on. I can only guess that if it can take out an ICBM then it'll be able to dust off other forms of airbourne threats.

[specter177]

Currently it's only been tested against boost phases. I don't know what it would do against a ballistic inbound threat. It should work pretty well against aircraft.

[OVERLORD_CHRIS]

What I mean is, when this becomes a legitimate defense option. At what point do they start replacing on mass things like the sam sites and such protecting airbases, Washington and so on. I can only guess that if it can take out an ICBM then it'll be able to dust off other forms of airborne threats.

It is part of the Triad, this is meant to take things out in the first stage, and reduce as much targets headed to the USA or other important targets as possible. Then shoot down what what gets passed with F-22's and F-15's, and PATRIOT system, and that should take care of 100% of the ICBM threat, especially from rouge nations....sine only the super powers have ICBM Subs

[specter177]

Here is the missile defense agency site: http://www.mda.mil/system/system.html

It goes ABL - Ground Based Interceptor/SM-3 - Patriot/THAAD.

Also, SSBNs would probably be the first thing taken out during any war with China or Russia.

[OVERLORD_CHRIS]

Here is the missile defense agency site: http://www.mda.mil/system/system.html

It goes ABL - Ground Based Interceptor/SM-3 - Patriot/THAAD.

Also, SSBNs would probably be the first thing taken out during any war with China or Russia.

Yeah I was looking at it from the: Russia is part of the UN, and should not do any thing, and China seems to be going away from aggressiveness, and are concerned about some crazy nut job in the middle east getting one.

On that web site, I don't see how a Predator is going to stop an ICBM or Nuke Scud.

[Meck]

At what range to the thread is the ABL (or any ground based system) supposed to operate? Anyone knows how far the ABL was from the boost-section?
Since a LASER might be a mid-range weapon (like a PATRIOT or anything similar) in clean air, but what about clouds/rain/snow? The watermolecules will leak(?) the LASER beam quite rapidly or will at least lower it's intensity I guess...

:-?

[OVERLORD_CHRIS]

They said they solved that problem, and that the range is classified, but you figure at 35,00ft up, and it is supposed to be able to hit an ICBM coming out the silo if they know where it is, so the range has to be pretty good.

[Meck]

I just read the YAL-1 article on wiki: they say it has to be within a few hundret kilometers to the TBM or ICBM-launcher. And as they arm at the hot exhaust of a missile they have about 1min. before the missile goes ballistic I'd say from knowing PATRIOT LFK's. So you have to be quite near to the enemy - with an aircraft that isn't quite capable of air combat (even if in company with fighters and/or electronic warfare a/c).   :P

And as an addition: they say use against ground targets seems unlikely because of the dense atmosphere would weaken the beam...

[The Ruptured Duck]

I'm not clear as to why its taken so long to get this working.  From what I've been told the laser itself has been operational for some time now.

[OVERLORD_CHRIS]

And as an addition: they say use against ground targets seems unlikely because of the dense atmosphere would weaken the beam...

2nd video explains why we don't trust wiki.


[quote]I'm not clear as to why its taken so long to get this working.