by Zachary Keck
As North Korea continues its relentless pursuit towards acquiring intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) capable of delivering a nuclear weapon to the American homeland, the United States is seeking a new tool to shoot them down.
This week the Missile Defense Agency published a request for information (RFI) asking for proposals for a High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) unmanned aircraft equipped with lasers to destroy ballistic missiles during their boost phase. Among the requirements MDA is looking for are drones that fly at altitudes greater than sixty-three thousand feet, with flight endurances of at least thirty-six hours, not counting the notional three-thousand-kilometer (1,864 miles) flight from the airbase to their station upon completing the mission.
more
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/the-us-military-wants-lasers-shoot-down-north-korean-icbms-21197
