Getting Closer to "Star Wars"

Former Spook writes of

Saturday's test flight by the U.S. Air Force's Airborne Laser (ABL), which is designed to shoot down ballistic missiles during their boost phase.

High-energy oxygen-iodine laser

To simulate an intercept, the prototype Airborne Laser actively tracked an airborne target, compensated for atmospheric turbulence and fired a "surrogate" for a missile-zapping high-energy laser, according to the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency, which is funding the project. The successful test clears the way for the next phase of ABL development, installing a high-energy oxygen-iodine laser, and eventually, firing the weapon against a simulated missile target. That test is now scheduled for August 2009.

Who is our near peer competitor in this arena? I can't think of one.