US laser gun refused to shoot
The US military conducted another unsuccessful test of an airborne laser gun designed to destroy ballistic missiles. On that "weapon Star Wars "didn't even fire.A megawatt-class high-energy chemical laser was installed on board a specially modified Boeing-747 aircraft. "The laser was tasked with destroying a short-range solid-fuel ballistic missile in the upper stage of its flight," said Rick Lehner, the official representative of the anti-missile defense agency working within the Pentagon.
According to the US Department of Defense, the target missile was launched successfully. The sensors of the laser system were able to detect the heat of the exhaust gases of the rocket engine. However, the equipment could not provide sustainable targeting. “Therefore, a“ shot ”of a high-energy laser did not follow,” Lehner explained. He assured that at present the developers of this weapon are trying to deal with the problem that has arisen.
Recall that in early September, the Pentagon conducted another test of the laser gun, which also ended in complete failure. The weapons of the future were set to destroy a target missile from a distance of 160 kilometers. But the experiment failed due to software failure in the control system of the laser beam.
As Dni.Ru wrote, previously, the US Department of Defense had technical problems with a new weapon. In particular, the tests had to be postponed due to problems found in the cooling system of the tracking camera.
To date, the laser gun, on the development of which the United States has spent over four billion dollars, has been able to hit only one target missile, reports the business newspaper Vzglyad. Successful for the Pentagon shooting took place in February. The distance to the target was approximately 80 kilometers.
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