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| Look Out Above! Russia May Target U.S. Sats With Laser Jet |
| 2011-06-14 |
| The A-60's nose doesn't seem to have any openings, however. Instead, there's a "large bulge on the upper back of the aircraft [that] is apparently a sliding port for a 1-megawatt laser turret," space historian Dwayne A. Day writes for The Review. "The laser is clearly intended to fire up, at something above the plane, rather than to the sides or down, to engage ground targets or other aircraft." |
| Posted by:Uncle Phester |
| #7 It could work and the Russians had the best military laser technology in the early 90s. They could have retained some of that capability and could field something like this. However, my gut feeling is this is for show and to play the "one up" game. There are too many technologies that the Russians simply don't have to make this really feasible. It could very easily have a 1MW laser on it, but it might just lock on to nearby butterflies rather than a satellite. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2011-06-14 11:46 |
| #6 The article mentions a 1 megawatt laser. Fielding one would be a significant achievement - this may be Russian prediliction for 'claim the biggest'. Or not. 'Satellite killer' may be an overstatement. Dazzling one, i.e. rendering its sensors inoperable for a while, is a potential threat, against which the US would probably close apertures and thereby lose mission utility for a while. Satellites are much more fixed in the sky than, say, an incoming missile, so an airborne capability might be possible. |
| Posted by: lotp 2011-06-14 10:33 |
| #5 US already has this ability experimentally, on a Boeing platfrom. Do they really want to get into a contest with us on that? |
| Posted by: The Other Beldar 2011-06-14 09:34 |
| #4 I would think that a ground-based system would be more stable than an air-based platform. How would they "lock-on" to a sat from a moving, buffeting plane? Not like I'm an expert, though. |
| Posted by: Spot 2011-06-14 08:14 |
| #3 The degree to which targeted lasers might blind, if not permanently damage, satellites is hotly debated in the military community. Models are very sensitive to assumptions about beam dispersion etc. Damage or operational disruption from air-based lasers is most likely for the lower altitude microsats that Old Spook and others favor (for good reasons) but may perhaps be possible for geostationary satellites whose sensors are designed to be especially sensitive due to the high altitude orbits at which they are inserted. |
| Posted by: lotp 2011-06-14 07:30 |
| #2 Oh yeah, Russkis, + pre-Anna Chapman Anna Longinova notwithanding, well Indjuh matches yours + raises .... To wit, * WAFF > INDIA TO ROLL OUT 1,700-SEAT PASSENGER AIRCRAFT IN SEVEN YEARS. * DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [DRDO] INDIA HAS THE TECH TO DEVELOP ORBITAL WEAPON FOR SPACE WARFARE. One-n-the Same - Nuke Beijing from space, + carry a lot of tourists??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2011-06-14 01:51 |
| #1 Watch out! The're going to throw LaserJet Printers at our satallites! |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2011-06-14 00:12 |