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Topic: Airborne Laser

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	Airborne laser: Overweight and oh-so-late \| thebulletin.org
		A laser beam travels at the speed of light, far faster than a kinetic vehicle, to deliver a large amount of energy over long distances in a narrow, concentrated beam of monochromatic light.
		If the laser's power is not high enough, the laser will not be able to perform in the limited time it has to identify, track, and disable the enemy missile.
		Laser light inside a COIL begins when an excited atom emits a photon spontaneously, triggering a chain reaction with other atoms, which then release photons with the same amount of energy.
	www.thebulletin.org /article.php?art_ofn=mj03priebe (1581 words)

	The Promise and Problems of Laser Weapons
		The DSB study said, for example, that an airborne "Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) is an emerging concept for a family of compact, modular, high-energy laser weapon systems." A standoff capability would lessen its vulnerability to small-arms fire or shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles.
		The laser could be added to or removed from several tactical platforms such as ground combat vehicles, fighters, or rotorcraft, according to the report.
		A fired laser encounters turbulence, scintillation, and other hurdles in the atmosphere that must be compensated for in order to deliver a solid beam to the target.
	www.afa.org /magazine/dec2001/1201laser.asp (2015 words)

	Airborne laser assault from the skies
		A second low-powered laser is sent toward the target, and reflections from it inform the system about atmospheric irregularities between the aircraft and the target which may affect the intensity of the strike.
		The high-powered laser doesn't aim for the warhead, instead seeking the missile body where the fuel is. "It's only intended to strike a missile while it's in its boost phase, right after its been launched," Garcia clarifies.
		The COIL lasers used in the system operate at the infrared wavelength, so the fiery power of their beams, at least until they strike something, will remain invisible to the human eye.
	www.exn.ca /starwars/superlaser.cfm (1061 words)

	Boeing's Airborne Laser System
		Airborne Laser System The Airborne Laser system will — for the first time — provide an early defense against such missiles as Scuds by destroying them in the boost phase.
		The Airborne Laser System Within the last decade, tactical theater ballistic missiles — such as the Scuds used by Iraq during Desert Storm — have emerged as major threats to American forces deployed abroad and allied nations as well.
		The Airborne Laser (ABL) weapon system would operate at altitudes above the clouds where it can acquire and track missiles in boost flight, and then accurately point and fire the laser with such energy that the missile is destroyed before it can do any harm.
	www.angelfire.com /ia/infovault/miracl9.html (689 words)

	Airborne Laser
		Airborne Laser (ABL) The Airborne Laser (ABL) Demonstrator Program is an Air Force Advanced Technology Demonstration program to develop and then demonstrate the necessary technologies to acquire, track, and destroy theater ballistic missiles during boost phase.
		Airborne Laser @ Boeing As part of a US Air Force effort to address the feasibility of an airborne laser system for defense against those types of missiles, a team comprised of Boeing, TRW and Lockheed Martin has been exploring the concept of an accurate, airborne, high-energy laser.
		Airborne Laser Experiment to study performance limits of turbulence compensation systems from OE Reports December 1995 issue An interview Russell Butts, Air Force Phillips Laboratory - ABLEX is an acronym for Airborne Laser Experiment, which was an experiment which propagated a laser beam from one aircraft to another aircraft.
	www.globalsecurity.org /space/systems/abl-refs.htm (730 words)

	Welcome to the 3D Laser Mapping Website (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
		Laser mapping is a fast and accurate method of creating 3D digital images of the earth's surface and objects on it.
		Laser technology has been utilised in the mining industry for many years but recent advances in the technology and in the control and mapping software have produced systems that can provide significant cost savings in many aspects of geomatics and engineering.
		At the heart of laser mapping is a laser range measurement system that uses a pulsed laser, which is measured using a precise interval timer.
	www.3dlasermapping.com (384 words)

	Airborne Laser
		A crew of four, including pilot and copilot, would be required to operate the airborne laser, which would patrol in pairs at high altitude, about 40,000 feet, flying in orbits over friendly territory, scanning the horizon for the plumes of rising missiles.
		Performance requirements for the Airborne Laser Weapons System are established by the operational scenarios and support requirements defined by the user, Air Combat Command, and by measured target vulnerability characteristics provided by the Air Force lethality and vulnerability community centered at the Phillips Laboratory.
		The Airborne Laser - A Revolution in Military Affairs Gerald W Wirsig; Diane Fischer (Faculty Advisor) Air Command and Staff College 1997 - The method of employment and the portion of the theater missile defense mission to be performed by the ABL are yet to be determined.
	www.fas.org /spp/starwars/program/abl.htm (1598 words)

	Airborne Laser: History (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
		Although it had shown that a laser mounted on an aircraft could be a formidable defensive weapon, it was generally viewed as impractical.
		Its carbon dioxide laser was too bulky, it was dependent on an external power source, and it did not generate enough power to be effective at extended ranges.
		Dubbed the Airborne Laser (ABL), the new system would include multiple COIL modules (six in the prototype version; 14 in the manufacturing model) installed in pairs in the rear of a Boeing 747-400 freighter.
	www.airbornelaser.com /history (1004 words)

	REACH OUT AND FRY SOMEONE: The Airborne Laser
		One of the TILL lasers tracks the nose of the target, establishing a baseline for calculating how far away the target fuel tank is, while the second TILL laser tracks the target area calculated by the first TILL.
		The Nb:YAG laser was selected to fill this role because of its high power output and the need to differentiate it from the returning pulses of the TILL lasers.
		Stabilizing the lasers as the aircraft flies through the air at 600 knots will be the responsibility of the nose mounted tracking turret, which must be able to make rapid multi-axis corrections to the beam's attitude to compensate for aircraft motion.
	www.military.com /soldiertech/0,14632,Soldiertech_ABL,,00.html (1936 words)

	Air Force Technology - ABL YAL 1A - Airborne Laser
		The US Air Force Airborne Laser, (ABL), designated YAL-1A, is a high energy laser weapon system for the destruction of tactical theatre ballistic missiles, which is carried on a modified Boeing 747-400F freighter aircraft.
		The primary laser beam is generated by a megawatt chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL) located at the rear of the fuselage, which lases at 1.315 micron wavelength.
		The laser beam is locked onto the missile, which is destroyed near its launch area within seconds of lock-on.
	www.airforce-technology.com /projects/abl (1022 words)

	MissileThreat :: Airborne Laser (ABL) (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
		Lasers are of particular importance due to their speed in interception, which easily overcomes the speed of ballistic missiles and permits boost phase interception, when missiles are most vulnerable.
		Laser advances would benefit not only to Israeli anti-missile programs such as Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL), but the U.S. Air Borne Laser (ABL) program as well, not to mention better space-based laser programs yet to be developed.
		China may have a laser weapon, similar in concept to the United States’ air-borne laser (ABL), which they can and may be deploying near Taiwan, in addition to their buildup of short range ballistic missiles.
	www.missilethreat.com /systems/abl_usa.html (2367 words)

	The Airborne Laser Swindle
		The biggest challenge is overcoming the limited range of modern lasers, which can only destroy unarmored targets less than 10 miles away on a clear day.
		Laser research is important and will yield many new weapons, so long as funds are not squandered on more 747s for the Airborne Laser program.
		The Missile Defense Agency has moved a lethality test of the Airborne Laser, originally scheduled for late fiscal year 2003, to the first quarter of FY-05 in an attempt to lower program risk, according to an MDA spokeswoman and budget documents.
	www.g2mil.com /ABL.htm (912 words)

	USATODAY.com - U.S. military to test airborne missile-defense laser (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
		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.
		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.
		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.
	www.usatoday.com /tech/science/2004-11-17-airborn-laser_x.htm (896 words)

	Airborne Laser Team Completes Successful Tests of High-Power Laser
		The ABL system will use six such laser modules to create a megawatt-class chemical laser flying in a specially built Boeing 747-400F to shoot down missiles in the boost phase.
		The high-power laser is coupled with a revolutionary optical system capable of focusing a basketball-sized spot of heat that can burn through a missile skin from hundreds of miles away.
		The Airborne Laser program is managed by the Air Force ABL system program office, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., which reports to Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
	www.converge.org.nz /pma/cra0555.htm (499 words)

	Airborne Laser (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
		The Airborne Laser, or YAL-1A A Attack Laser, will be the first plane in history to use a laser, mounted in a Boeing 747 freighter aircraft, to defend against attacking missiles.
		A second advantage is the laser's wavelength -the world's shortest wavelength (1.315 microns) for a high-power laser.
		Additionally, there were other successful tests recently that addressed how to aim and focus a laser accurately on a hostile missile hundreds of miles away despite factors such as vibration in the aircraft.
	www.aeronautics.ru /nws001/abl001.htm (893 words)

	Airborne laser altimetry (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
		The laser is used to measure the range between the aircraft and the snow surface.
		Laser altimetry allows large areas to be surveyed, but it is influenced by short-term variations in snow accumulation rate and densification of the subsurface snow (firn).
		We should then be able to link the snow elevation measured by laser from the aircraft or satellite with the time variation in density (from coffee cans set at different depths) and snowfall.
	www-bprc.mps.ohio-state.edu /GDG/laser.htm (234 words)

	1021 (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
		On Saturday, October 16, 2004, the Airborne Laser (ABL) aircraft, designated YAL-1, was rolled out of its hangar at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., in preparation for the platform's return to flight testing in the upcoming weeks.
		The ABL, a component in the Missile Defense Agency's plan to develop and field a "layered defense," is a revolutionary program using a megawatt, high-energy Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) on a Boeing 747-400F aircraft to detect, track and destroy a ballistic missile shortly after it is launched, called the "boost phase" of flight.
		Smarty pants "I can parse a sentence." Yes, technically, if we never use the laser plane because it happens to be on the ground when North Korea launches a missile at Seattle, that would be bad.
	www.muskratnews.com /200401LOTD/1021.html (396 words)

	Remote Sensing
		Remote sensing from airborne or space-based platforms provides a synoptic view of a study area often difficult to obtain from ground observations alone.
		Airborne interferometric and polarimetric SAR has been used to map the topography and electrical properties of the ground surface.
		And airborne lidar mapping is used extensively in the geomorphic analysis of coastal change, the analysis of flood hazards, and the three-dimensional visualization of natural and urban terrains.
	www.beg.utexas.edu /environqlty/remote_sensing/index.htm (271 words)

	USGS - Coastal and Nearshore Mapping with Scanning Airborne Laser (Lidar)
		In a cooperative research program, USGS, NASA and NOAA acquire laser altimetry data prior to and following extreme storms to quantify amounts of coastal change using NASA's Airborne Topographic Mapper (ATM).
		As the aircraft flies along the coast, a laser altimeter scans a several hundred meter swath of the earth's surface acquiring an estimate of ground elevation every few square meters.
		Airborne scanning laser surveys are providing unprecedented data to investigate the magnitude and causes of coastal changes that occur during severe storms.
	coastal.er.usgs.gov /lidar (244 words)

	Airborne Laser Laboratory (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
		The Airborne Laser Lab was a gas-dynamic laser mounted in a modified version of a KC-135 used for flight testing.
		It was extensively modified by the Air Force weapons Labratory at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, and used in an 11-year experiment to prove a high-energy laser could be operated in an aircraft and employed against airborne targets.
		During the experiment, the Airborne Laser Lab destroyed five AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and a Navy BQM-34A target drone.
	www.fas.org /spp/starwars/program/all.htm (111 words)

	Airborne Laser: Bullets of Light (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
		Before the Air Force even conceived of the airborne laser (ABL), Air Force personnel, contractors, and scientists worked at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, to develop a laser capable of shooting down a missile.
		In the event of an explosion from the pressurized chemicals the ALL used to conduct laser tests, the diagnostic aircraft would be able to determine what had happened.
		Since Airborne Laser provides the best history of developments leading to the ABL, I highly recommend it to any Air Force officer or to anyone interested in laser applications.
	www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil /airchronicles/apj/apj00/win00/duffner.htm (482 words)

	Defense Tech: AIRBORNE LASER IN TROUBLE AGAIN
		The star-crossed Airborne Laser program could be headed for a big funding cut, and maybe even elimination, Aviation Week reports.
		Since the 80's, the U.S. military has toyed with putting a chemical laser on board a commercial jumbo jet, and using that plane to defend against enemy missile attacks.
		Nearly $600 million is supposed to be poured into the Airborne Laser this fiscal year.
	www.defensetech.org /archives/000708.html (195 words)

	THE AIRBORNE LASER (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
		Although the airborne high energy laser (HEL) is not a new idea within the laser development community, it now demands renewed attention from the Air Force and the Department of Defense, insofar as the airborne laser (ABL) may just be an idea whose time has come.
		The first airborne HEL system was the Air Force's Airborne Laser Laboratory (ALL), which flew its last laser test mission in 1983 (and now resides at the Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio).
		If the laser beam were simply pointed toward the target, just as one points a flashlight, the beam would easily wander off its intended target because of aircraft vibration and atmospheric-induced jitter.
	www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil /airchronicles/apj/apj94/coulombe.html (4583 words)

	Use of LIDAR in Creating Accurate Terrain Elevation Models for Floodplain Mapping By David Serr (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
		Shortly thereafter, laser rangefinding was demonstrated by timing the round-trip travel of a laser pulse between the laser transmitter, a target and the laser receiver (Jensen, 2000).
		The reflected laser light from the ground follows the reverse optical path and is directed into a small telescope and then to the laser receiver.
		The laser rangefinding would be the most accurate of the three subsystems, with an accuracy of better than 5 centimeters over a wide range in distances.
	www.emporia.edu /earthsci/student/serr1/project.htm (3953 words)

	The Airborne Laser
		It is not a scene from the next episode of "The X Files." It is a demonstration of one of the major technologies--adaptive optics--that may enable USAF to develop a practical airborne laser (ABL) weapon system.
		The laser for today's ABL, he noted, is eight times more powerful than the one used in the ALL project but is one-thousandth as bright.
		In early 1995, the Air Force conducted its Airborne Laser Extended Atmospheric Characterization Experiment (ABLE-ACE) to demonstrate how a laser beam's physical properties can be affected as it travels through the atmosphere and how adaptive optics technology can correct the distortion.
	www.afa.org /magazine/jan1996/0196airbo.asp (1106 words)

	‘First Light’ for airborne laser weapon - Space News - MSNBC.com (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
		An artist's conception shows an airborne laser system being fired at a missile during its ascent.
		The Chemical Oxygen Iodine laser is built by Northrop Grumman Corp. It includes breakthrough optics designed to focus a basketball-sized spot of heat on a missile’s skin to rupture it up to hundreds of miles away.
		The ground-based system, also integrated by Boeing, is meant to be the first leg in a system that could ultimately include the airborne laser as well as interceptor rockets that could become the first weapons based in space.
	www.msnbc.msn.com /id/6473144 (683 words)

	Airborne Laser conducts extended flight test (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
		Six laser modules were linked as a single unit and fired for the first time on Nov. 10, producing photons that make up the powerful beam.
		As the test program progresses, two illuminator lasers will be installed, along with a low-power laser which will be used as a substitute until the high-energy laser can be integrated into the system.
		The Airborne Laser is one of the boost-phase segments of the overall plan to make the United States, its allies and its deployed troops safe from ballistic missile attack.
	www.af.mil /news/story.asp?storyID=123009397 (377 words)

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