Here’s a striking view of the business end of that Airborne Laser (ABL) intended to shoot down ballistic missiles during lift-off. The main laser is a megawatt-class chemical oxygen iodine laser, aka COIL, with output at a wavelength of 1.315 µm. A good system overview can be found at Operational Implications of Laser Weapons, with some of the challenges described here and here.
In-flight testing of the ABL will start within a year – that pretty much guarantees that hostiles will start spray-painting their birds with infrared reflective paint within a year.
Officials Map Out Test Milestones for Airborne Laser – Space.com, 22 March 2006
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