Boeing trucks ahead with 8-wheeling laser weapon

The Boeing HEL MD vehicle.

(Credit: Boeing )

The promise of laser weapons is that they will dispatch enemy missiles and other threats at the speed of light. Progress on those weapons systems, however, sure has been a heck of a lot slower.

When last we heard from Boeing about the HEL TD (High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator) program in June 2011, the defense contractor had just finished system integration of key components, including the installation of the beam control system and other hardware on the 8-wheeled, 500-horsepower Oshkosh HEMTT (Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck).

This week, Boeing said that it's now engaged in the next phase of its contract with the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, in which it will install a 10-kilowatt solid-state laser in the system, which has been slightly renamed as HEL MD, for High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator. Field tests will take place in the coming year to let the high-power SSL system show off its dexterity at acquiring, tracking, and defeating "threat-representative" targets.

Zzzzzzzzzzzap! The Boeing HEL TD may someday knock missiles and UAVs out of the sky, laser-style.

(Credit: Boeing )

What threats will those targets represent? Rockets, artillery shells, missiles, and u... [Read more]