Melting a tank from 10,000 feet and 5 miles away

Popular Science:

Creating a laser that can melt a soda can in a lab is a finicky enough task. Later this year, scientists will put a 40,000-pound chemical laser in the belly of a gunship flying at 300 mph and take aim at targets as far away as five miles. And we’re not talking aluminum cans. Boeing’s new Advanced Tactical Laser will cook trucks, tanks, radio stations—the kinds of things hit with missiles and rockets today. Whereas conventional projectiles can lose sight of their target and be shot down or deflected, the ATL moves at the speed of light and can strike several targets in rapid succession.

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There is much more. The laser is said to do its work in about three seconds with great precisions. It still needs to be reduced in size to become an easily used weapon but it will fit on the gunships used to support special forces. Here is a graphic that accompanies the story.

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