Laser Weapons Move Forward, Slowly

(Oct. 6) -- As the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency prepares for another test of the Airborne Laser, a chemical laser housed on a Boeing jumbo jet, the question still looms: When will any laser weapon be ready for the battlefield?

With billions of dollars and decades of work invested in such weapons, the short answer is: Probably not anytime soon, but some lasers are further along than others.

Here's the status of the top three military laser weapons:

1) Airborne Laser: The next test of the Pentagon's flying megawatt-class laser, known as the Airborne Laser Testbed, is likely to take place next week, Richard Lehner, spokesman for the Missile Defense Agency, told AOL News. The target for that test will be a small, solid-fuel sounding rocket. The chemical laser, which has has a mixed record in what are called "shoot-down" tests, is currently a "testbed," meaning it is still under development as an experimental project, but there are no current plans to buy and operate it as an actual weapon. It was originally supposed to be part of a missile defense system that would shoot down ballistic missiles in their initial phase of flight.

Status: Testing, with no schedule for deployment.

2) Solid-State Laser: The Pentagon is also funding solid-state lasers, which although not nearly as powerful as chemical lasers, are more compact and are slowly reaching high power levels. Solid-state lasers use a solid, such as a crystal, for the lasing medium. Northrop Grumman, one of the companies funded to work on solid-state lasers, boasted last year of reaching the 100-kilowatt mark with its solid-state laser, generally regarded as the minimum power level needed to be a usable weapon. That's enough power to explode a roadside bomb, but it's not quite a Death Star yet.

Northrop, which is also working on a shipboard version of its solid-state laser, announced last week a successful test that involved blasting stationary targets across the Potomac River. "The laser burned through small boat sections in these tests, conducted in late August and early September, the company said.

Status: Under development, with completion expected by 2012.

3) Free Electron Laser: Boeing last month received a contract to complete the design of the Navy's Free Electron Laser, a tunable beam of energy that can be used on board ships to destroy possible threats. Such a laser is still years away from fielding; the current phase, known as the "critical design review," won't be completed until late next year.

Status: In design. Scheduled to go on select ships by 2020.