Boeing 747 uses laser to destroy missile

Boeing 747 uses laser to destroy missile

A U.S. military aircraft, equipped with an airborne laser device, successfully shot down a test missile in the sky off the central California coast Thursday night.

The high-energy laser, mounted on the nose of a modified Boeing 747-400F, was focused on the missile target during its boosting phase. The laser beam burned a hole in the side of the missile.

It was the first time that a laser weapon has engaged and destroyed an in-flight ballistic missile, and is the first time that any system has accomplished destroyed a missile as it was in its boosting phase.

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35369649/ns/lo...ews-seattle_wa/