Will This Weapon Change Warfare?

An Air Force test in January is a prelude to putting laser weapons on AC-130 gunships like this depiction.Photo: DARPA

New York Post: Silent, invisible, deadly: The weapon that could change warfare

This month, the Force awakens in theaters. Next month, a new force awakens in the New Mexico desert, where the Defense Department is to start testing a weapon worthy of “Star Wars” — a silent, invisible laser that needs just a couple of seconds to burn a hole in targets miles away.

“What it really boils down to is a silent weapon that nobody sees or hears,” said Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, commander of Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC, pronounced “AFF-sock”).

Heithold is eager to put a laser cannon on four or five of AFSOC’s three dozen or so AC-130 gunships. AC-130s are typically used to cover special operations troops on night-time missions.

WNU Editor: I am old enough to remember when many were critical and sceptical that such weapon systems could be deployed. Surprise .... it looks like the engineering has caught up with the science.