Among the entire set of anti-missile combat systems planned at the time, the air-based interception system, which launches laser pointer from the air and directly destroys the missile, is the most sci-fi color. Four years after the project was dismantled due to excessive technical difficulties, laser weapons launched from high altitude were prepared again.
The difference is that this time the anti-missile laser weapon is carried by a drone. According to reports, the Pentagon recently announced plans to use drones to launch lasers to shoot down missiles. The space-based laser anti-missile system modified with a Boeing 747 passenger plane was finally dismantled.
According to the report, at a meeting of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, Lieutenant General James Surin, director of the Ballistic Missile Defense Agency, revealed that the rapid progress of laser technology means that they will soon be installed on high-altitude drones. Compared with the previous use of Boeing 747 aircraft as a laser weapon launch platform, UAVs are more efficient and cheaper.
These long-endurance drones can stay at high altitude for several days each time they are deployed, and can launch high-energy lasers at an altitude of about 65,000 feet (about 20,000 meters) to destroy the missile that has just taken off. He emphasized that the use of lasers to shoot down ballistic missiles in the early stage of launch has great advantages. At this time, ballistic missiles are the most vulnerable and cannot release decoys or take other countermeasures. At the same time, the drone can also use high altitude to get rid of the interference of bad weather, and fly to the enemy missile launching position in a concealed manner.
The British “Daily Mail” reviewed the progress of the space-based green laser pointer anti-missile interception system. According to reports, in 2010, the Pentagon’s space-based laser shot down an incoming missile for the first time in a test. It is carried by a modified Boeing 747 large passenger aircraft, which has been developed for 16 years and cost 5 billion US dollars. However, the range of this laser weapon is too short, which means that the Boeing 747 has to get close to the enemy missile launching position.