Oh, baby!

Boeing announced today the first ever test firing of a real-life ray gun that could become US special forces’ way to carry out covert strikes with “plausible deniability.”

In tests earlier this month at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, Boeing’s Advanced Tactical Laser — a modified C-130H aircraft — “fired its high-energy chemical laser through its beam control system. The beam control system acquired a ground target and guided the laser beam to the target, as directed by ATL’s battle management system.”

The laser, which is humongous, is not the stereotypical “blow up cars and leave smoking craters” type of weapons. It is apparently capable of some pretty deft operations.

According to the developers, the accuracy of this weapon is little short of supernatural. They claim that the pinpoint precision can make it lethal or non-lethal at will. For example, they say it can either destroy a vehicle completely, or just damage the tires to immobilize it. The illustration shows a theoretical 26-second engagement in which the beam deftly destroys “32 tires, 11 Antennae, 3 Missile Launchers, 11 EO devices, 4 Mortars, 5 Machine Guns” — while avoiding harming a truckload of refugees and the soldiers guarding them.

In other words, the targets now don’t have any weapons to fire, can’t move their vehicles, and can’t call anyone for help.

Oh, and the thing is precise enough that we could use it to kill a single person in a crowd. I think that’s a little fact that we ought to make sure a few tyrants and Islamists head-choppers hear a few times. Right now, we aren’t allowed to assassinate individuals, by Executive Order. All it takes to change that is for the President to say that Order no longer applies.

Now, if you don’t mind, I need a cigarette.

(The illustration from the quote above is after the jump)

(via memeorandum)