Navy destroys drone with laser weapon ahead of 2014 deployment

from theverge.com: The US Navy has been pursuing solid-state laser weapons capable of setting other vessels on fire for years, but now one is almost ready to actually be put out to sea. The Office of Naval Research (ONR) today announced that it is aiming to "field and test a solid-state laser prototype" in early 2014 aboard the USS Ponce. The Ponce is a transport vessel from the 1970s that was recently upgraded into a hi-tech floating base and is stationed in the Persian Gulf, in range of Iranian attack boats.

As evidence of how far it's come with laser technology, the Navy released videos and imagery today of its prototype cannon tracking and burning a small drone out of the sky. The test firing took place off the coast of California in July last year, an ONR spokesperson told The Verge. It followed on the heels of a previous test of the Navy's laser weapons in early 2011, when a laser cannon was used to ignite and destroy a small boat.

 

Putting such a weapon out into the field aboard the Ponce, however, is "a major show of confidence" in the technology, as Danger Room's Spencer Ackerman wrote last month. That's especially true given the fact that defense spending is likely to face cuts in the upcoming federal budget. Still, the Navy thinks the technology is worth further investment in and may actually be cheaper than other current defense weapons. "Compared to existing ship self-defense systems, such as missiles and guns," a Navy specialist wrote in a report to Congress last month, "lasers could provide Navy surface ships with a more cost effective means of countering certain surface, air, and ballistic missile targets." The latest test is further evidence that the Navy is setting its laser ambitions higher than you may have guessed.

Crop Circles Made By Laser Tech

World News Tomorrow article reveals Crop Circles may be made with well-known laser - not alien technology. "New information has emerged that indicates that this phenomenon might not have been made by aliens, but rather aliens of a different kind closer to home, namely the home of England’s MoD. ...Crop circles have become the subject of speculation... but unfortunately it points to a technology we all know so well - Laser Technology," reports article. The British launched "one of the few" satellites equipped with a laser in 1971, "the Ariel 5 X-ray satellite, that passes over the Stonehenge area, with a radius  of 40 miles, on regular intervals. This would of course explain why the Crop circles have appeared within the 40 mile radius since the 1980′s, and have never been found outside of its’ 'footprint'." 

How does the technology work?

"The process is similar to the normal laser cutting process that is used to make a picture on metal by precision computer measuring cutting technology developed by Nikon, except here the non visible laser beam doesn’t cut but rather suppresses a pre-programed imprint of the image onto the surface, in this case, the grass. This would explain a number of questions asked with absolute precision and accuracy."

The above explanation makes so much sense, especially, Ariel 5 satellite orbit over areas of the United Kingdom where Crop Circles so often discovered!

US Air Force Testing Drone Lasers Above North Dakota

from slate.com: It’s fair to say North Dakota has a fraught relationship with drones. First there was the strange and historic arrest of a farmer in the state involving an unmanned aircraft.

Now military-grade Predator drones are set to test “non-eye safe” lasers flying near Devils Lake in specially restricted airspace, prompting complaints from civilian pilots about safety.

Late last month, in a significant but little reported development, the FAA approved (pdf file) the establishment of seven areas of restricted airspace to fly Predators above the North Dakota military base Camp Grafton. This means that the drones have been designated a large section of the sky, where they will engage in Air Force training operations at altitudes of 8,000-14,000 feet.

Though military-grade drones are currently flown in remote parts of the United States for border surveillance and on occasion for law enforcement, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association believes the restricted zones in North Dakota set a “disturbing precedent.” Why? Because, according to AOPA, it is the “first ever reserved exclusively for UAS [unmanned automated systems] activity, the start of a ‘slippery slope’ that could lead to similar proposals elsewhere.”



The FAA met with strong opposition from the moment it proposed imposing the restricted zones in November last year. The airspace regulator received 43 comments responding to the plan—and just one was supportive. Twenty of the comments expressed concerns about a “possible collision hazard.” Others were worried about how the lasers could pose a hazard to people on the ground, or that the restrictions could cut off civilian flight routes and increase costs because alternative flight plans would be necessary.

The FAA admits that the restricted areas “could impact civil flight training.” But it says civilian planes can still fly their normal paths, so long as they stay at a different altitude than the drones.

In an alarming article on its website, AOPA alleged that eight days after the changes came in to force, a navigational chart was issued to pilots but contained no information about them. “Pilots could be flying into restricted airspace and know nothing about it,” AOPA’s Heidi Williams warned.

The restricted zones are the latest example of the incremental introduction of drones into national airspace. Earlier this month, in another little-reported development, the U.S. Air Force reported it had tested a Predator in national airspace over Louisiana as part of a disaster simulation exercise, in coordination with the FAA, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security.

One of the only existing barriers is the absence of drone “sense and avoid” technology to help detect other planes—which is likely to have played a significant part in a collision with a manned aircraft in Afghanistan last year. The U.S. Army recently announced a new radar system it believes could address this problem, and consequently, as Arstechnica notes, it expects to start flying drones in domestic airspace for training by March, 2014. The deadline the FAA has set for full integration of drones into U.S. airspace is Sept. 30, 2015.

1984 Cold War Incident: Soviet Laser Fired Upon Shuttle Challenger

Clark C McClelland, former ScO Space Shuttle Fleet, writes in a chapter from his book Stargate Chronicles: "Terra-3 Soviet Strategic Space Weapon Was Used to Attack U.S.A. Space Shuttle Challenger Spy Mission," about a volatile incident of Cold War era spying that almost ignited World War III! On Oct. 10 1984, Space Shuttle Challenger was engaged in a spy mission to take photos with a large format camera of the Sary Sagan anti-ballistic installation (pictured) near Lake Balkash in Kazakhstan. The Soviet Defense Minister concerned about American spying, ordered Terra-3 laser fired upon the Shuttle! The laser beam caused malfunctions on shuttle and sickened crew members, and resulted, in a formal diplomatic protest. McClelland summarzes Russian response, "the U.S.S.R. recognizing that the order given by their Defense Ministry under the watchful eye of the KGB had caused a very dangerous international incident and quickly responded to the angry United States protest by saying that the response taken by their government was only an action to annoy the crew of the space shuttle during their spy mission over sovereign Soviet territory. It was not meant to harm anyone on board the spacecraft. Of course it wasn’t, yeah, sure!" The former NASA employee also shares opinions on possible sabotage involved in NASA tragedies. You won't see sabotage in the mainstream press, so it's worth the read!

'Laser Rifle' Is Latest US Weapon Against Enemies

from smartplanet.com: Last month, a British defense company demonstrated how a non-lethal laser weapon can be used to ward off pirates. Now, American researchers have created a laser gun that sea bandits really wouldn’t want to mess with. While the crystalline Neodymium Yttrium Aluminium Garnet laser canon, developed by BAE Systems, can temporarily disorient an assailant with a pulse of blinding light, another prototype called the TR3 Threat Deterrent Laser Rifle is compact and the laser settings can be adjusted to inflict some serious pain... The TR3, developed by Xtreme Alternative Defense Systems and SPA Defense, can deliver a pretty intense 3-watt green laser at targets stationed up to one and a half miles away when operated at night. The rifle’s re-chargeable lithium-ion battery allows for up to 30 plus minutes of continuous firing. David Crane of DefenseReview.com got to test out a prototype during the recent Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show and Conference or SHOT show... A company-produced video of the TR3 in action may exist and Crane plans to upload footage if he ever gets his hands on it. The TR3 is intended for military and defense markets only.

china ups cyberwar stakes

Northrop Grumman published a study of China's capability to conduct cyberwarfare last year. The present writer suggests at least surveying, "An Operational Profile of An Advanced Cyber Intrusion". The section contains a very readable review of a sophisticated data collection operation and intrusion upon large US company networks. It's an education. ZDNET Asia provides a more disturbing quote from the same document in, "China's US $90b ups cyberwar stakes,"... document also claimed the country has stockpiled a kinetic arsenal that includes lasers, high-power microwave systems and nuclear-generated electromagnetic pulses to supplement its cyber warfare force. It also claimed the country is training its forces to work under 'complex electromagnetic conditions'." This represents serious and sober preparation for knocking out and operating computer systems under very harsh and adverse conditions. It's war preparation, clearly!