Star Wars is here.

[big john]

Laser shoots down aerial target.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/adva ... s-uk-first
It will only be a matter of time before missiles and guns are reduntant.

[Alf]

Laser shoots down aerial target.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/adva ... s-uk-first
It will only be a matter of time before missiles and guns are reduntant.

USAF have already been there with the AL-1 - a laser equipped Boeing 747. It was the future about 20 years ago but was eventually cancelled and the single AL-1 scrapped at Davis Monthan in 2014. Must be some photos on here of it at DM?

[Snoop55]

The Americans already have laser weapons (If i remember on a couple of warships) and this year the Israelis will have partial operations with them.

[roughcutter]

A silent killer, there's bound to be lots of applications for such a device as this. When it is further developed/refined, I wonder how long it would take to downsize one of these weapons, small enough to fit to a drone? Ultimate assassin's weapon...

[22A]

A silent killer, there's bound to be lots of applications for such a device as this. When it is further developed/refined, I wonder how long it would take to downsize one of these weapons, small enough to fit to a drone? Ultimate assassin's weapon...

No head of state would be safe.

[lardyboy999]

I've got a couple of tattoos that need removing........

[Tanker Ray]

Laser shoots down aerial target.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/adva ... s-uk-first
It will only be a matter of time before missiles and guns are reduntant.

USAF have already been there with the AL-1 - a laser equipped Boeing 747. It was the future about 20 years ago but was eventually cancelled and the single AL-1 scrapped at Davis Monthan in 2014. Must be some photos on here of it at DM?

Here's a shot of the AL-1 I took in 2012 before the scrap man's arrival.

317a by Mark Young, on Flickr

[Vulcanone]

And some nice other stuff too Tanker Ray, they stripped quite a bit off the AL-1 first off. I assume some airline used the spares?

[Bilvo]

And some nice other stuff too Tanker Ray, they stripped quite a bit off the AL-1 first off. I assume some airline used the spares?

Any reason the spares couldn't be used for the VC-25s? I assume some parts must be interchangable with the presidents 747s?

[Alf]

And some nice other stuff too Tanker Ray, they stripped quite a bit off the AL-1 first off. I assume some airline used the spares?

Any reason the spares couldn't be used for the VC-25s? I assume some parts must be interchangable with the presidents 747s?

The VC-25 are old world 747-200, the AL-1 was based on a 747-400. Maybe they did not have much in common.

PS nice to see the ex JANET 737s in the photo.

[filmman]

Most likely that the first viable, but heavy, systems will be deployed on high value US Navy ships. Missiles are a very expensive way of protecting ships against drones and have you enough. So numerous second layer gun systems are needed. The Royal Navy’s track record from 1930 is like the Titanic, numerous ships lost until multiple guns were fitted and proper air cover. After WW2 guns were in most cases replaced with inadequate Sea Cat missiles: Argentinian pilots considered them a joke. But Sea Wolf was on some ships in the Falkland War, finally fixed on the job and shot down a 4 plane attack formation. RN ships do not have sufficient guns to deal with a mass drone attack. I was on a Russian ship that had numerous Gatling gun systems.
As a quick fix we need to fit numerous gun systems to ships. Unlike WW2 we have few ships to lose.
If you watched the New Year firework displays you would have seen 100’s of drones in mass formation. Opps!
In the meantime check your life jacket and boat station and be careful where you sail.

[Philwinward]

I seem to recall reading somewhere that lasers were good for distance and head on use, but they had a problem when trying to track the target when it was flying passed you. Like you would pan your camera as an aircraft flew passed at speed.
Does anybody else recall this ?