The US Missile Defense Agency is claiming a successful test of their Airborne Laser Testbed system (built by a coalition of Boeing, Northrop and Lockheed). In short they claim the laser missile defense system successfully shot down two short range ballistic missiles on February 11th in a test of the effectiveness of its high energy beam defensive capability:
The Missile Defense Agency demonstrated the potential use of directed energy to defend against ballistic missiles when the Airborne Laser Testbed (ALTB) successfully destroyed a boosting ballistic missile. The experiment, conducted at Point Mugu Naval Air Warfare Center-Weapons Division Sea Range off the central California coast, serves as a proof-of-concept demonstration for directed energy technology. The ALTB is a pathfinder for the nation’s directed energy program and its potential application for missile defense technology.
At 8:44 p.m. (PST), February 11, 2010, a short-range threat-representative ballistic missile was launched from an at-sea mobile launch platform. Within seconds, the ALTB used onboard sensors to detect the boosting missile and used a low-energy laser to track the target. The ALTB then fired a second low-energy laser to measure and compensate for atmospheric disturbance. Finally, the ALTB fired its megawatt-class High Energy Laser, heating the boosting ballistic missile to critical structural failure. The entire engagement occurred within two minutes of the target missile launch, while its rocket motors were still thrusting.
This was the first directed energy lethal intercept demonstration against a liquid-fuel boosting ballistic missile target from an airborne platform. The revolutionary use of directed energy is very attractive for missile defense, with the potential to attack multiple targets at the speed of light, at a range of hundreds of kilometers, and at a low cost per intercept attempt compared to current technologies.
Less than one hour later, a second solid fuel short-range missile was launched from a ground location on San Nicolas Island, Calif. and the ALTB successfully engaged the boosting target with its High Energy Laser, met all its test criteria, and terminated lasing prior to destroying the second target. The ALTB destroyed a solid fuel missile, identical to the second target, in flight on February 3, 2010.
Without knowing the exact conditions of the test it is difficult for me to speculate on the magnitude of this “breakthrough” but I can say that, if the test was not rigged for success, this sets the stage for a potential arms race with China. At the least, it is also a warning shot across Iran’s bow, because it increases the likelihood of an Israeli or American attack against Iran’s nuclear facilities if the ALTB system is viewed as an effective defense against any potential Iranian missile strikes in response.
Again, I caution people that the mere announcement of a successful test of this ATLB system does not necessarily confirm that it is combat ready. Previous tests of other defensive missile systems (primarily missile interceptor systems) have been shown after the fact to have been provided optimum conditions in order to achieve a “successful” outcome. We also don’t know: (1) the operational range of this new laser, (2) whether it would work against any potential countermeasures an adversary might employ in a combat situation, or (3) whether it could deal with multiple missiles launched simultaneously in time to prevent all of them from reaching their targets. If I was the commander in charge of a proposed military action against a state with a ballistic missile capability (e.g., Iran or North Korea), those are all matters of which I’d want to be certain before relying too much on the defensive protection the system purports to offer.
We can predict, however, with some measure of certainty, that calls for increased funding of laser weapons will be pushed by the military, and by the US defense firms involved in producing these weapons. That funding demand will be difficult for any Congress or President to oppose, regardless of the current economic condition of the nation and so-called calls for fiscal restraint. And that may have been the primary purpose of holding and announcing the results of this “successful” test now for both the agency in question and the defense contractors involved.
