Gah.
Lights Out For The Airborne Laser
It’s apparently not *all* bad news. While the ABL has been making progress, it’s far over budget, and thus an obvious target for budget cuts. But the USAF claims to have entirely new laser technology coming down the pike which will allow similar laser capability to be put on unmanned aircraft (type undescribed) within a few years. If this means something akin to Global Hawk, then that would mean a rather staggering decrease in system mass, and presumably cost. Which would, at least in principle, allow the skies to be filled with laser-armed aircraft.
The F-35 would be an obvious platform… the bay for the forward lift-jet would make a dandy location for a laser. Without a major sensor upgrade, an F-35 based anti-missile system seems unlikely, but an F-35 based laser-ground-attack system seems possible. Such a laser system would also be an obvious addition to the weapons complement of the AC-130.