Pentagon: We’re Closer Than Ever to Lasers That Can Stop Iranian, North Korean Missiles
Close up of the Lockheed Martin Airborne Laser turret in a clean room.
By Marcus Weisgerber Read bio
August 17, 2016
With global demand for missile defense surging, US officials are fine-tuning cheaper, more powerful laser weapons.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The Pentagon is looking to lasers as a cheaper, more effective way to shoot down long-range missiles fired at the United States by North Korea and Iran.
After experimenting with the technology for more than a decade, U.S. military officials said “directed energy” is near the point where they could use it on the battlefield.
“It’s not a hope. This is what we’re doing,” Vice Adm. James Syring, director of the Missile Defense Agency, said Wednesday. “I view this [as] highly important for the future.”
http://www.defenseone.com/business/2016/08/pentagon-were-closer-ever-lasers-can-stop-iranian-north-korean-missiles/130845/?oref=d-dontmiss
