Comments on: Army Tests IED-Killer Laser

By: roland

roland — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 02:50:58 +0000

We need this plasma technology on our (USA) ships, boats and planes. The Russian have been using this for a long time now.

By: roland

roland — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 02:38:00 +0000

We need this plasma technology on our (USA) ships, boats and planes. The Russian have been using this for a long time now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY1mn1IxFs8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rWcbms9EjE&fe...

By: Dale

Dale — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:39:02 +0000

Do you really want something high-tech and classy rather than just shooting them? What’s wrong with just getting some of those cheap toy (about $10 to $20 each) remote controlled dung buggies, putting a piece of C4 or a grenade on it, guiding it to the device and detonating it? You can even put a shape charge on it for harder targets! Not only do you save money, but you make it fun and give the soldiers something to play with when things are calm. It’s high-tech, (well higher tech then just shooting them), classy and fun. What more do you want?

By: Rhys F

Rhys F — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:16:57 +0000

I think you just described a phased plasma rifle in the 40W range. Problem is, this ain’t hollywood, and the bad guys aren’t robos.

By: red dog

red dog — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 06:42:36 +0000

if it saves lives its worth it. being in iraq is bullshit. an we can’t just walk out of afganistan, so if it saves our soldiers i say do it.

By: colt's

colt's — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:12:48 +0000

Forget IED’s would like to see it on a fob in OEF burning them on the hills lol

By: elgatoso

elgatoso — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:52:34 +0000

anytyme!

By: Sev

Sev — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:34:14 +0000

I’d prefer to have this system on Naval ships and nuke sites to shoot down ballistic missles. There is no point of having a laser do what a single AP incindiary .50 cal could do. I mean its cool and all, but its not really necessary. I’d prefer they develop a way of detecting IEDs instead. Anyone agree?

By: Ted dentay

Ted dentay — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:33:30 +0000

Gracias y merci.

Bien fait , amigo.

Hasta!

Ted Dentay
de Canada

By: Ted Dentay

Ted Dentay — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:27:24 +0000

Allons ‘y!

Well said.

Hadn’t considered some of your points but have now.

Ted

By: michel baikrich

michel baikrich — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:09:39 +0000

Elgatoso

Gracias por la ayuda en la traduccion

Best regard

Michel

By: Pete

Pete — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 08:19:07 +0000

Pink mist, I love it. It is a joke right?. Also what is this polymers you are talking about?.

By: TFWL

TFWL — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 04:19:47 +0000

too little too late.…what if they bury the IED? Does the world know that some years ago, Arthur Toor and team from Lawrence Livermore or one of our other national labs, developed a device that can detect buried explosives like mines, ied’s etc and explode them from a drone. In a test his team was given a number of drones by the air force and they were the only ones to have a perfect score. So the air force approved the device. But a certain General from the Vietnam fiasco vetoed it saying he preferred pink mist. What is pink mist? When a soldier steps on a mine he dissolves into a pink mist…that, the enlightened general said…is the only real way to find a mine. He lost his war. So where is this device now? It could fly in front of a convoy and explode ieds and mines. It could clear old mine fields in very little time. We have it, where the heck is it and why is it not being used? We are also spreading polymers along the sides of the roads supposedly too tough to bury a mine in…will that stop these ingenious fighters?

By: elgatoso

elgatoso — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 04:14:18 +0000

Loose Translation
For Boeing and another ones,They are in another planet… Is called digital war but if the electricity is gone or the signal is distorted or a small nuclear weapon blast..All of this material does not work anymore.
The operational reality is different,you have two different concepts.
Aftan:NATO troops use sofisticated materials because they are looking for Zero casualties(western concept)but the Taliban without aircraft ‚helos,tanks,artillery,helmets and bulletproof vest… but knowing the terrain and using rugged and lighter weapons are at advantage
Seem that NATO forget Sun Tzu

By: Michael McComber

Michael McComber — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:27:51 +0000

“The IED test follows demonstrations over the last two years when Laser Avenger shot down small unmanned aerial vehicles.”

Yeah, paper airplanes. Burned ‘em right up.

Michael in Atlanta

By: William C.

William C. — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:11:34 +0000

The technology has to start somewhere, perhaps it will be of some use of neutralizing IEDs when they can’t just be shot up or disposed of safely by other means.

By: shawn

shawn — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:07:46 +0000

Great idea, wrong application

It would be better to increase the output of the laser and use it on enemy personnel or as a perimeter defense weapon (not sure its power source, assuming renewable/portable if their test can put it on a Humvee)- even as a ground based version of the anti-missile chemical laser currently taking up the length of a modified Boeing 747 (in fact, with a few mods, I bet they could even use this laser in place of the chemical one, allowing the laser to placed on fighter aircraft– Apaches, Raptors, etc. for significant advantage over conventional ballistic weapons– supply verse weight)

By: SkysoldierRecon

SkysoldierRecon — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:03:22 +0000

ya gotta find ‘em to kill ‘em..why aren’t line charges being used more often? there is man portable versions, etc. we are turning this into rocket science…

By: Okie

Okie — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:23:12 +0000

If we zap a Taliban from a mile away, will the Army also supply the suntan lotion?

What is the anti-personal possibilities for this system?

One thing I did pick up was the first 60mm that was exploded took a long time. That is because the laser does not have enough juice to knock down a 122 rocket in flight. Otherwise, Boeing would be testing this thing 2 miles from the West Bank and Gaza.

By: Tivereas

Tivereas — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:23:12 +0000

What a joke. Munitions sitting exposed on rocks. Send a few rounds, costing what, $1.

Keep lasers for exposed stuff of merit like missiles, mortars, rockets, artillery, planes and vehicles.

This is the most ridiculous thing I have seen in a long time.

They need a reality readjustment.