In case you thought that the pain gun was the only real-life science fiction weapon that Raytheon was up to, then you haven’t heard about this real-life laser.
This Laser Close-In Weapon System was recently unveiled in an airshow in England, and it has recently made history as the first time a laser has shot down an aircraft in flight.
This demonstration took place last May, and I don’t know why this is the first time I am hearing so much buzz about it just now. This project was developed by Raytheon and the Navy, and I can only assume that they have de-classified it or something. The laser blast happened 100 miles west of Los Angeles, and the target was an aircraft flying at 300 miles per hour.
The laser was about 50kW, and, unlike what you see in science fiction, the beam was completely invisible. They only know that it hit because the target exploded. The event is being called, and I quote from my source: “the real Star Wars” or “better than Star Wars”.
My source also says that battle-ready lasers probably won’t be ready until 2016. Hopefully, the US won’t use them then, because we will have stopped fighting these wars that we are currently fighting. I can always hope.
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