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Laser weapons have long been staples of science fiction, but real laser weapons are extremely complex, high-tech systems. Since the invention of the laser in 1960, the U.S. Armed Services have been working to produce the scientific and engineering breakthroughs required for the creation of real laser weapons, which would be a type of the long-desired, speed-of-light weapon. While Air Force and Navy laser weapon programs received considerable media attention over the years, Army efforts are less well known, particularly the early programs at Redstone Arsenal prior to 1990. One of these, the Mobile Test Unit (MTU) Program, produced the first vehicle-mounted, air-defense laser weapon demonstrator in the world. The MTU system actually shot down airborne targets in 1976! Other Redstone programs produced numerous global firsts in high-energy laser research and development.

This book covers the history of laser weapon activities at Redstone from the earliest research into high-energy lasers to truck-mounted, solid-state air defense laser weapons of 2015. Technical details of 17 systems or programs at Redstone Arsenal described herein contributed major breakthroughs to the Army’s and America’s laser weapon development efforts.