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 an aircraft, initially the AC-130 gunship, for use against ground targets in urban or other areas where minimizing collateral damage is important. The laser will be a megawatt-class chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL). It is expected to have a tactical range of approximately twenty kilometers and weigh about 5,000–7,000 kg.
In 2002, the Special Operations Command entered into a contract with The Boeing Company, specifically the Lasers and Electro-Optics Systems division in West Hills, CA located at (), to produce a prototype laser system on a test aircraft. This effort was heavily supported by Boeing-SVS[1] in Albuquerque, NM located at ().
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 have undergone testing in the summer of 2006 culminating in the systems joint combined tests in 2007 with full-scale development afterwards.
Boeing announced [2] that on December 4, 2007 the installation of the laser on the C-130H Hercules was completed in preparation for further testing and a demonstration in 2008.
[edit] See also
- Airborne laser
- Chemical laser
- High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System
- Tactical High Energy Laser
[edit] External links
- Boeing Begins Flight Tests and Laser Firings for Laser Gunship Program, Boeing News release.
- Lasers: The Light Brigade, Strategic Affairs Magazine article.
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