Laser weapons are here: ATL test shows ability to attack moving targets effectively from the air

摘要

The U.S. Air Force's experimental Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL)-a high-energy laser weapon fitted to a C-130 turboprop aircraft-hit and damaged a moving vehicle in late September in a test that demonstrated for the first time the laser weapon's ability to attack moving targets effectively.rnThe test occurred less than three weeks after an Aug. 30 test in which ATL damaged an unoccupied stationary vehicle, marking the aircraft's first air-to-ground, high-power laser engagement of a tactically representative target.