thedrifter
01-26-09, 01:46 PM
Laser system could aid troops in war zones
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jan 26, 2009 12:48:39 EST
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A laser system that looks like a turret mounted on a Humvee has successfully shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle, the first time a laser on a combat vehicle destroyed a UAV, Boeing Co. said Monday.
Boeing tested the Avenger laser system last month at White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico, and said the test demonstrated it can shoot down a small unmanned aerial vehicle like those that increasingly threaten U.S. troops in war zones.
Avenger used its advanced targeting system to find and track three small UAVs flying against a complex background of mountains and desert, and shot down one of the UAVs.
The program director of Boeing’s Directed Energy Systems, Gary Fitzmire, said that unlike conventional weapons, the Avenger can fire without creating missile exhaust or gun flashes that would give away its position.
“Small UAVs armed with explosives or equipped with surveillance sensors are a growing threat on the battlefield,” Fitzmire said.
December’s tests follow a 2007 demonstration in which an earlier version neutralized improvised explosive devices and unexploded ordnance on the ground.
“We doubled the laser power, added sophisticated acquisition, tracking and pointing capability” and made the design simpler, said Lee Gutheinz, Boeing program director for High-Energy Laser-Electro-Optical Systems.
The Avenger integrates the directed energy weapon with kinetic weapons on the air defense system developed by Boeing Combat Systems in Huntsville, Ala.
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, with headquarters in St. Louis, is a $32.1 billion business with 71,000 employees worldwide.
Ellie
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jan 26, 2009 12:48:39 EST
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A laser system that looks like a turret mounted on a Humvee has successfully shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle, the first time a laser on a combat vehicle destroyed a UAV, Boeing Co. said Monday.
Boeing tested the Avenger laser system last month at White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico, and said the test demonstrated it can shoot down a small unmanned aerial vehicle like those that increasingly threaten U.S. troops in war zones.
Avenger used its advanced targeting system to find and track three small UAVs flying against a complex background of mountains and desert, and shot down one of the UAVs.
The program director of Boeing’s Directed Energy Systems, Gary Fitzmire, said that unlike conventional weapons, the Avenger can fire without creating missile exhaust or gun flashes that would give away its position.
“Small UAVs armed with explosives or equipped with surveillance sensors are a growing threat on the battlefield,” Fitzmire said.
December’s tests follow a 2007 demonstration in which an earlier version neutralized improvised explosive devices and unexploded ordnance on the ground.
“We doubled the laser power, added sophisticated acquisition, tracking and pointing capability” and made the design simpler, said Lee Gutheinz, Boeing program director for High-Energy Laser-Electro-Optical Systems.
The Avenger integrates the directed energy weapon with kinetic weapons on the air defense system developed by Boeing Combat Systems in Huntsville, Ala.
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, with headquarters in St. Louis, is a $32.1 billion business with 71,000 employees worldwide.
Ellie