General Hawk: US Jetfighters Will Have Laser Cannons By 2020

Alex Buscemi10 years ago

Lasers are powerful, miraculous tools with a myriad of uses. A laser pointer can ruin an asshole professor’s presentation with a stealthy and well-timed swirl directed at the crotchal region. A laser hair remover can make even the most rugged of female hoods silky smooth. And soon, jets with FREAKING LASER CANNONS will rain concentrated bursts of death and destruction onto the heads of commies and terrorists motherfucking Han Solo style.

According to aptly named Airforce General Hawk Carlisle, the United States will be zapping Jihadists like ants under a magnifying glass by 2020.

From Technica:

“I believe we’ll have a directed energy pod we can put on a fighter plane very soon,” Air Force General Hawk Carlisle said at this week’s Air Force Association Air & Space conference in a presentation on what he called Fifth-Generation Warfare. “That day is a lot closer than I think a lot of people think it is.”

We already have laser cannons mounted to Navy ships that are capable of microwaving enemies by sea, but strapping those bad boys on jetfighters is infinitely cooler. Carlisle says that laser-wielding-aircraft will also save taxpayer money. Lasers have a much, much lower “cost per shot” than missiles and guns: a mere $1 per blast.

Here’s some footage of the laser cannon on the USS Ponce destroying targets mounted on watercraft, and shooting an unmanned test drone out of the sky.

Imagine that shit on an airplane, son. Fuck yeah..

[via Technica]

Image via YouTube