[CTRL] China Targets U.S. Airborne Laser

[William Shannon]

http://www.geostrategy-direct.com/ China targets U.S. airborne laser     China has turned its sights on the U.S. Air Force’s airborne laser program as part of its world-wide propaganda campaign against missile defense, according to U.S. intelligence officials.     The airborne laser is being developed by the Air Force as a theater ballistic missile defense system — and not a national missile defense capable of knocking out long-range missiles.     According to intelligence officials, the Chinese government has targeted the airborne laser program in its propaganda effort.     “They are trying to lump it with strategic missile defenses,” said one official. “At the same time, they are developing their own laser weapons.”     A Pentagon report issued last year said that China is acquiring a variety of foreign technologies with applications for anti-satellite weapons, including lasers.     Pentagon intelligence agencies believe China already has lasers capable of tracking and photographing satellites and is said to be seeking an advanced radar system that would track satellites in low earth orbit. Such capabilities are the first step in being able to knock out orbiting satellites with laser guns.     “In addition, China already may possess the capability to damage, under specific conditions, optical sensors on satellites that are very vulnerable to damage by lasers,” the report said. “Beijing also may have acquired high-energy laser equipment and technical assistance, which probably could be used in the development of ground-based ASAT weapons. Given China's current level of interest in laser technology, Beijing probably could develop a weapon that could destroy satellites in the future.”     The airborne laser is a laser gun fitted inside a militarized Boeing 747 jet. It is being designed to hit short-range missiles during the boost-phase of their flight by focusing its beam on the shell of the missile frame.     The laser burns a hole in the shell, causing the missile to break apart. The first test of the laser against a missile in flight is set for 2003.     The Air Force insists the weapon will be limited to short-range missiles — to avoid violating the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty between Moscow and Washington.