Evolutionary Air and Space Global Laser Engagement

Last updated

The Evolutionary Air and space Global Laser Engagement (EAGLE) is a missile defence plan being developed by the United States Air Force. It is a "space-based weapon". [1]

The project is a combination of two separate missile defense efforts: the Aerospace Relay Mirror System and a new, high-altitude airship. The project is designed as a means to destroy enemy missiles before they would have the opportunity to hit targets on American soil. [2] It involves using either ground-based, air-based or space-based lasers deflected off a massive airship (roughly 25 times the size of the Goodyear blimp) covered in mirrors that could destroy missiles but also satellites or spacecraft in a low Earth orbit. By synergistically employing airborne, terrestrial, or space-based lasers in conjunction with space-based relay mirrors, this innovative approach substantially enhances the capabilities of both the Airborne Laser and Ground-Based Laser. The system effectively projects varying laser powers and frequencies, enabling a wide array of effects, ranging from illumination to destruction. [3]

The first tests of the airship were scheduled to begin in 2006. Its current status as of 2011 is unknown.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missile</span> Self-propelled guided weapon system

A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strategic Defense Initiative</span> U.S. military defense program (1984–1993)

The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), was a proposed missile defense system intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic nuclear missiles. The program was announced in 1983, by President Ronald Reagan. Reagan called for a system that would render nuclear weapons obsolete, and to end the doctrine of mutual assured destruction (MAD), which he described as a "suicide pact". Elements of the program reemerged in 2019 under the Space Development Agency (SDA).

The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consist of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. All six armed services are among the eight uniformed services of the United States, along with the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mutual assured destruction</span> Doctrine of military strategy

Mutual assured destruction (MAD) is a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy which posits that a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by an attacker on a nuclear-armed defender with second-strike capabilities would result in the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender. It is based on the theory of rational deterrence, which holds that the threat of using strong weapons against the enemy prevents the enemy's use of those same weapons. The strategy is a form of Nash equilibrium in which, once armed, neither side has any incentive to initiate a conflict or to disarm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boeing YAL-1</span> Airborne laser demonstrator aircraft by Boeing

The Boeing YAL-1 airborne laser testbed was a modified Boeing 747-400F with a megawatt-class chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL) mounted inside. It was primarily designed to test its feasibility as a missile defense system to destroy tactical ballistic missiles (TBMs) while in boost phase. The aircraft was designated YAL-1A in 2004 by the U.S. Department of Defense.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-satellite weapon</span> Kinetic energy device designed to destroy satellites in orbit

Anti-satellite weapons (ASAT) are space weapons designed to incapacitate or destroy satellites for strategic or tactical purposes. Although no ASAT system has yet been utilized in warfare, a few countries have successfully shot down their own satellites to demonstrate their ASAT capabilities in a show of force. ASATs have also been used to remove decommissioned satellites.

Raytheon Missiles & Defense (RMD) was one of four business segments of RTX Corporation. Headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, its president was Wes Kremer. The business produced a broad portfolio of advanced technologies, including air and missile defense systems, precision weapons, radars, and command and control systems. Raytheon Intelligence & Space was merged with Raytheon Missiles & Defense in July 2023 to form the Raytheon business segment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States national missile defense</span> Nationwide missile defense program of the United States

National missile defense (NMD) refers to the nationwide antimissile program the United States has had in development since the 1990s. After the renaming in 2002, the term now refers to the entire program, not just the ground-based interceptors and associated facilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aerial warfare</span> Military combat involving aircraft

Aerial warfare is the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare. Aerial warfare includes bombers attacking enemy installations or a concentration of enemy troops or strategic targets; fighter aircraft battling for control of airspace; attack aircraft engaging in close air support against ground targets; naval aviation flying against sea and nearby land targets; gliders, helicopters and other aircraft to carry airborne forces such as paratroopers; aerial refueling tankers to extend operation time or range; and military transport aircraft to move cargo and personnel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Directed-energy weapon</span> Type of weapon that fires a concentrated beam of energy at its target

A directed-energy weapon (DEW) is a ranged weapon that damages its target with highly focused energy without a solid projectile, including lasers, microwaves, particle beams, and sound beams. Potential applications of this technology include weapons that target personnel, missiles, vehicles, and optical devices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirtland Air Force Base</span> US Air Force base at Albuquerque, NM, US

Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base. It is located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico, urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator Col. Roy C. Kirtland. The military and the international airport share the same runways, making ABQ a joint civil-military airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Force Research Laboratory</span> Scientific research organization for the US Air Force and US Space Force

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is a scientific research and development detachment of the United States Air Force Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of direct-energy based aerospace warfighting technologies, planning and executing the Air Force science and technology program, and providing warfighting capabilities to United States air, space, and cyberspace forces. It controls the entire Air Force science and technology research budget which was $2.4 billion in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space warfare</span> Combat that takes place in outer space

Space warfare is combat in which one or more belligerents are in outer space. The scope of space warfare includes ground-to-space warfare, such as attacking satellites from the Earth; space-to-space warfare, such as satellites attacking satellites; and space-to-ground warfare, such as satellites attacking Earth-based targets. Space warfare in fiction is thus sub-genre and theme of science fiction, where it is portrayed with a range of realism and plausibility. In the real world, international treaties are in place that attempt to regulate conflicts in space and limit the installation of space weapon systems, especially nuclear weapons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missile defense</span> System that destroys attacking missiles

Missile defense is a system, weapon, or technology involved in the detection, tracking, interception, and also the destruction of attacking missiles. Conceived as a defense against nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), its application has broadened to include shorter-ranged non-nuclear tactical and theater missiles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space weapon</span> Weapons used in space warfare

Space weapons are weapons used in space warfare. They include weapons that can attack space systems in orbit, attack targets on the earth from space or disable missiles travelling through space. In the course of the militarisation of space, such weapons were developed mainly by the contesting superpowers during the Cold War, and some remain under development today. Space weapons are also a central theme in military science fiction and sci-fi video games.

An airborne laser (ABL) is a laser system operated from a flying platform, as in the:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laser weapon</span> Directed-energy weapon using lasers

A laser weapon is a type of directed-energy weapon that uses lasers to inflict damage. Whether they will be deployed as practical, high-performance military weapons remains to be seen. One of the major issues with laser weapons is atmospheric thermal blooming, which is still largely unsolved. This issue is exacerbated when there is fog, smoke, dust, rain, snow, smog, foam, or purposely dispersed obscurant chemicals present. In essence, a laser generates a beam of light that requires clear air or a vacuum to operate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boeing EC-135</span> Command and control aircraft by Boeing

The Boeing EC-135 is a retired family of command and control aircraft derived from the Boeing C-135 Stratolifter. During the Cold War, the EC-135 was best known for being modified to perform the Looking Glass mission where one EC-135 was always airborne 24 hours a day to serve as flying command post for the Strategic Air Command in the event of nuclear war. Various other EC-135 aircraft sat on airborne and ground alert throughout the Cold War, with the last EC-135C being retired in 1998. The EC-135N variant served as the tracking aircraft for the Apollo program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron Beam</span> Laser air defense system

Iron Beam, officially מגן אור, magen or, Shield of Light is a directed-energy weapon air defense system unveiled at the Singapore Airshow on February 11, 2014 by Israeli defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. The system is designed to destroy short-range rockets, artillery, and mortar bombs; it has a range of up to 7 km (4.3 mi), complementing the Iron Dome system which was designed to intercept missiles launched from a greater distance. In addition, the system could also intercept unmanned aerial vehicles. Iron Beam will constitute the fifth element of Israel's integrated missile defense system, in addition to Arrow 2, Arrow 3, David's Sling and Iron Dome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air force</span> Military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare

An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviation or naval aviation units. Typically, air forces are responsible for gaining control of the air, carrying out strategic and tactical bombing missions, and providing support to land and naval forces often in the form of aerial reconnaissance and close air support.

References

  1. Hardesty, David C. (2005). "SPACE-BASED WEAPONS: Long-Term Strategic Implications and Alternatives". Naval War College Review. 58 (2): 45–69. ISSN   0028-1484. JSTOR   26394182.
  2. Hardesty, David C. (2005). "SPACE-BASED WEAPONS: Long-Term Strategic Implications and Alternatives". Naval War College Review. 58 (2): 45–69. ISSN   0028-1484. JSTOR   26394182.
  3. "Air Force plans for future war in space". NBC News. 2004-02-24. Archived from the original on February 1, 2022. Retrieved 2023-07-26.