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Even at its full range of 10 miles it would have a tough time hitting a commercial plane. 10 miles is 52,800 feet so the warship would have to be very close to
by amckenna 12y ago
Even at its full range of 10 miles it would have a tough time hitting a commercial plane. 10 miles is 52,800 feet so the warship would have to be very close to the plane to hit it (almost under it), and within visual range for sure, meaning it wouldn't happen by accident. A ballistic missile on the other hand can travel 1-3,000 miles to hit a target.
- e12e 12y agoIt's not like the laser stops dead at 10 miles (or 1 mile). It's just not able to take down a rocket at that range. While I don't think it's very likely that a laser took down the plane, who's to say it wouldn't be able to burn through one layer of wing, and expose/ignite the fuel? I'd imagine the difference between hitting a rounded missile almost head on, and a flat aircraft wing from underneath, is almost like the difference of igniting paper and wood with a laser pointer...
- rwallace 12y agoBurning through metal requires the laser to stay focused on the target for a few seconds. That's not going to happen by accident with an airliner moving at hundreds of meters per second and a different velocity than the intended target.