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Monday, January 12, 2009

Game Fiction Vs Real Military Advanced

I used to play the Command & Conquer General:Zero Hour game about 3-4 years ago. In the C&CGZ, in multiplayer mode, you need to choose one of the following general to command all your units which is:


Command & Conquer General:Zero Hour Game CD Cover

USA Army
- USA Super Weapon General
- USA Laser General
- USA Airforce General

China Army
- China Tank General
- China Nuke General
- China Infantry General

GLA (Global Liberation Army)
- GLA Toxin General
- GLA Stealth General
- GLA Demolition General

But what is most surprised me is about the USA Laser General. General "Pinpoint" Townes plays more like the regular USA Army than the other two USA generals. He has modified Crusader Tanks called "Laser Crusaders"; these are outfitted with a high powered laser cannon that exceeds ordinary tank cannons in firepower and fares better against infantry and structures, however, has a shorter range. He can build the Laser Patriot Defense Turrets; Patriot Turrets outfitted with a Laser Cannon; this change makes the Laser Patriot effective against almost everything.

Picture shows how Humvee (USA Blue Truck) firing Helix (China Red Helicopter) using Laser system.

At first i thought that the Laser idea is just about some game fiction. But nowadays, the USA military had done something that is more realistic with Laser System. One of the newest technology comes with Airborne Laser (Boeing) which will locate and track missiles in the boost phase of their flight, then accurately point and fire the high-energy laser, destroying enemy missiles near their launch areas.

Airborne Laser (ABL)

General Characteristic:

The ABL program places battle management and beam control/fire control systems and a high-energy Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) on a modified Boeing 747-400F aircraft to detect, track and destroy all classes of ballistic missiles in their boost phase of flight. ABL also can pass information on launch sites, target tracks and predicted impact points to other layers of the global ballistic missile defense system.

Boeing provides the aircraft, battle management and overall systems integration and testing. Northrop Grumman supplies the megawatt-class, high-energy laser, and Lockheed Martin provides the beam control/fire control system.

In 2007, the program successfully demonstrated in active flight tests that ABL’s battle management and beam control/fire control systems can complete the full series of steps required to support a ballistic missile engagement.

Completed installation of the high-energy laser in the aircraft in July 2008 and began firing the laser onboard the aircraft in ground testing in September 2008. Additional ground firings of the laser will set the stage for flight tests of the entire ABL weapon system, culminating in an airborne intercept test against a ballistic missile in 2009.


Offensive weapon: the envisaged air-based anti-missile laser system

The Capabilities Of this ABL:
  • Operates autonomously, above the clouds, outside the range of threat weapons but sufficiently close to enemy territory
  • Engages early, destroying ballistic missiles in their boost phase of flight over launch area
  • Cues and tracks targets, communicating with other joint theater assets for layered defense system
The Unique Of ABL:
  • Nose-mounted turret with 1.5m telescope that focuses beams on missile and collects return image and signals
  • Beam Control System to acquire and track targets with precision accuracy
Another View Of ABL:


Read more on Boeing Awarded Contract here:

Watch this youtube video that contains more on ABL new tech project:



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