SpaceWar.com is reporting that Boeing has successfully demonstrated a relay mirror system which would allow laser weapons to be fired and bounced off of high-altitude mirrors.
Boeing and the U.S. Air Force achieved major progress in their relay system development program by successfully redirecting a laser beam to a target using their Aerospace Relay Mirror System (ARMS).
The demonstration, conducted recently at U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory facilities at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., used a half-scale version of a strategic relay mirror payload that ultimately could be packaged and carried to high altitudes on airships, long-endurance aircraft or spacecraft.
The payload could be used with airborne, ground-based or sea-based high-energy lasers to destroy ballistic missiles and other targets. Relay mirror systems will greatly enhance laser weapon system performance by reducing the atmosphere’s effects on laser beams and extending their range beyond line of sight.
This is just another technology/technique being developed to give the U.S. rapid, global strike capabilities.
Tags: Boeing, Air Force, lasers, missile defense