Editors' Pick|Oct 7, 2021,09:28am EDT
U.S. Air Force Arms Ghostrider Gunship With Laser Weapon For Covert Strikes
David Hambling
Lockheed Martin LMT +0.6% announced on Wednesday that the U.S. Air Force had accepted its new Airborne High Energy Laser (AHEL) for flight testing on an AC-130J Ghostrider gunship.
“Our technology is ready for fielding today,” Rick Cordaro, vice president of Lockheed Martin Advanced Production Solutions, said in a statement reported in DefenseDaily. “These mission success milestones are a testament of our partnership with the U.S. Air Force in rapidly achieving important advances in laser weapon system development.”
The achievement is notable because of the AHEL’s sometimes erratic development. In 2015, Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, former head of Air Force Special Operations Command, had stated the goal of testing a high energy laser on an AC-130J gunship by the close of the decade. While other laser weapons have made good progress in shipboard applications, packing everything into the size, weight and power constraints of an aircraft is more of a challenge.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhambling/2021/10/07/usaf-gets-laser-armed-ghostrider-gunship-for-covert-strikes/?sh=b643b2236358
