Airborne Missile Shoot-Down Laser Testing Gathers Pace
Testing related to a United States military-operated aircraft featuring modern laser missile shoot-down technology has gathered pace.
Engineers have begun to initiate testing on the laser itself, in advance of the next stage, which will see it fired while at ground-level.
ABL/ Airborne Laser
The purpose of the ABL (Airborne Laser) is to engage and destroy ballistic missiles not long after being fired by enemy forces.
"The Airborne Laser team has done a great job preparing the high-energy laser for these fuel tests, which will lead the way toward achieving 'first light' of the laser aboard the aircraft", Boeing (the lead ABL contractor) Vice President Mike Rinn commented.
He added: "Once again, we made and demonstrated enormous progress toward ushering in a new age of directed-energy weapons."
Laser Targeting
The ABL works by highlighting the missile using a laser beam. At the same time, computers calculate the missile’s proximity and arc of travel, then, once engaged, the target is hit by a second laser.
The beam emitted by this second laser applies heat to the missile, inducing an explosion.
Ballistic Missile Range
The laser is a product of Northrop Grumman and, according to its manufacturer, is meant to be able to destroy the whole range of ballistic missiles – ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles) and TBMs (Tactical Ballistic Missiles) among them.
The aircraft to be used during the ABL’s initial ground-based trial firings is a Boeing 747 – still in widespread commercial service, but also in service with the United States Air Force as the Boeing E-4.
After these tests, the system will be taken into the air – currently scheduling sees initial airborne missile intercept testing taking place next year.
Missile Boost Phase
Striking ballistic missiles while in their early stages of their flightpath – a period known as the ‘boost phase’ – presents a number of benefits:
- The boost phase involves the rockets firing and, therefore, presents a visual location aid.
- The missile debris will predominantly come down on enemy ground.
On the negative side, positioning could be problematic – i.e. lining the aircraft up so as to strike the missile. Similarly, timing – with only a small window of opportunity for the missile to be shot down.
ABL Range
The range of the ABL is constrained by weather/ atmospheric conditions and other factors.
A report carried out by the American Physical Society four years ago wrote that the ABL would be capable of striking a standard ICBM with a maximum 600 kilometre separation between the two.
In instances involving ICBMs powered by solid-fuel (as opposed to liquid-fuel examples), however, this range would likely be roughly halved.
This, according to the report, would not be sufficient to counter missile launches made from North Korea or Iran.
Source – Armed Forces International’s Aviation Expert
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