[extropy-chat] LASER: DARPA's HELLADS small laser weapon makes headway

[Dirk Bruere]

On 9/5/05, Mike Lorrey <mlorrey at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> Firstly, your ciaonet reference page is login access only.
> 
> Secondly, any weapon small enough to fit on a fighter aircraft, which
> is what HELLADS is intended for in its final version, would not have an
> aperture or beam size of 12 cm. Aerodynamics and airframe space
> limitations wouldn't allow it. The point of the weapon is something
> that replaces the 20 mm vulcan cannon currently standard equipment on
> US fighters and is typically mounted within one or the other wing root.
> A laser weapons caliber/beam width should be of similar dimensions,
> thus 20 mm would be about .80 caliber. Beam size between .50-1.50", or
> 12-37mm are what the application would call for.
> 
> If you can't fit the weapon inside the cavity reserved for the vulcan
> cannon, don't waste your time. Especially if it winds up being some
> add-on pod that takes up bomb/missile/fuel tank rack space, and
> detracts from vehicle aerodynamics.
> 
> From what I've heard, it fits in a weapons pod.
It's not internal.
Second, data I extrapolated from was the airborne MIRACL system
http://www.fas.org/spp/military/program/asat/miracl.htm

Dirk
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