Advanced tactical laser
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The advanced tactical laser (ATL) program is a US military program to mount a high energy laser damage weapon on a platform such as the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft or an AC-130 gunship. The laser is expected to complement the airborne laser and is envisaged to have a tactical range of perhaps twenty kilometers with a payload of about 5,000–7,000 kg. It could be deployed against cruise missiles or large artillery shells. The laser will be a megawatt-class chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL).
On January 18, 2006, the U.S. Air Force's 46th Test Wing handed over to Boeing a C-130H Hercules transport aircraft for use in the ATL program. Both the laser and the aircraft will undergo testing in the summer of 2006 culminating in the systems joint combined tests in 2007 with full-scale development afterwards.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Strategic Affairs Magazine article.
- Video of the missile.
- october 2006 update—Boeing press release.
