MIRACL

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For the arbitrary-precision arithmetic library, see MIRACL (software).

MIRACL, or Mid-Infrared Advanced Chemical Laser, is the only known successful directed energy weapon developed by the US Navy. It is a deuterium fluoride laser, a type of chemical laser.

The MIRACL laser first became operational in 1980.^[1] It can produce over a megawatt of output for up to 70 seconds,^[2] making it the most powerful continuous wave (CW) laser in the US.^[3] Its original goal was to be able to track and destroy anti-ship cruise missiles, but in later years it was used to test phenomenologies associated with national anti-ballistic and anti-satellite laser weapons. Originally tested at a contractor facility in California, as of the later 1990s and early 2000s, it was located at a facility (32.632° N 106.332° W) in the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.^[4]

The beam size in the resonator is about 21 cm (8.3 in) high and 3 cm (1.2 in) wide.^[2] The beam is then reshaped to a 14 x 14 cm (5.5 in x 5.5 in) square.^[2]

In 1997, amid much controversy, MIRACL was tested against a US Air Force satellite in orbit^[5] at a distance of 432 km (268 mi).^[6] The satellite was disabled but the Air Force did not get the data from the satellite it had hoped for.^[5]

[edit] References

1. ^ U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command. MIRACL at HELSTF. Retrieved on 2007-07-05.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Sherman, Robert. Mid-Infrared Advanced Chemical Laser (MIRACL). Retrieved on 2007-07-05.
3. ^ Airborne Laser System Program Office. Airborne Laser (YAL1A). Retrieved on 2007-07-05.
4. ^ U.S. Department of Defense. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE APPROVES LASER EXPERIMENT TO IMPROVE SATELLITE PROTECTION. Retrieved on 2007-07-05.
5. ^ ^{a b} Plante, Chris; The Associated Press & Reuters (1997-10-20), “Pentagon beams over military laser test”, CNN 
6. ^ Zack, Ed. Miniature Sensor Technology Integration (MSTI). Retrieved on 2007-07-05.