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 Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,827 Points: -13,348
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The US Navy are just two years away from arming warships with laser weapons capable of destroying incoming missiles and aircraft!
http://www.dailymail.co....g-missiles-aircraft.html
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Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,827 Points: -13,348
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Wow!! That's interesting stuff thanks for posting it Tom!!
I note that each shot of the laser is estimated to cost less than 1 US Dollar compared to 800,000 - 1,000,000+ US Dollars PER guided missile? Now that's what I call good fiscal studies!!
Take note David Cameron, we need to buy these, stick 'em on our ships and with the billions saved by not needing conventional weapons and consequently smaller ships, we can start re-building Harriers, Nimrods and all the other Great British icons that you have cancelled in the name of supposed austerity!!
Kev 
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Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,827 Points: -13,348
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Its a huge step forward, and I wonder how long it will be before the same ends up in Space to target where ever on Earth.
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Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,827 Points: -13,348
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Hmmmm, good point!! I wonder if there was anything about US space based Laser weapons in that Mayan 'Doomsday' prophecy concerning December 2012 !? 
Kev
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 Rank: Master       Groups: Registered
Joined: 05/09/2012 Posts: 1,400 Points: 4,690 Location: Beaminster, Dorset
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25 years ago I worked for a company producing high powered CO2 pulsed lasers for industrial use and often wondered why somebody wasn't using them as a weapon. Ships are the ideal starting point as these things require huge power supplies, we needed to create gas plasmas at 50000 volts which needed very large heavy oil cooled transformers. The great advantage is of course once you have target acquisition then you have a 196,000 miles/second action which is effectively instantaneous. Effectiveness becomes a problem over significant distances, as even the most precise lenses and mirrors give some divergence of the collimated beam/pulse reducing the energy per unit area dramatically and also some absorption/reflection will occur in Air per unit of distance traveled (not a problem in space obviously) again significantly reducing the beam/pulse strength over large distances.
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Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,827 Points: -13,348
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Rank: Master Groups: Registered
Joined: 05/09/2012 Posts: 1,400 Points: 4,690 Location: Beaminster, Dorset
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Well spotted Kev, I thought I'll round it up to 190k and then having 186 in my head typed 196 
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Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,827 Points: -13,348
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Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,827 Points: -13,348
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Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,827 Points: -13,348
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Well ... not many then!!??
Kev
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US
