Laser anti-missle defense system

A laser anti-missile defense system for producing coherent light energy to irradiate and destroy offensive attack missiles traveling within the atmosphere, irrespective of intervening atmospheric gases characteristic of said atmosphere between said system and said missiles, comprising:

• a multiple beam laser battery located on terra firma, said multiple beam laser battery comprising at least;
• a first chemical laser weapon to produce a first beam of continuous wave radiant heating energy of a given power level;
• a second chemical laser weapon to produce a second beam of continuous wave radiant heating energy of a given power level;
• with the power levels produced by said beams of said first and second laser weapons being sufficient in combination in intensity to at least weaken a spot of the wall of a missile located at the most distant portion of the atmosphere, irrespective of any effects of thermal blooming of said beams;
• said first laser weapon being spaced from said second laser weapon a predetermined distance sufficient to preclude said first and second beams from overlapping;
• mounting means at each of said predetermined locations for respectively mounting said laser weapons for universal targeting movement to permit the associated laser weapon to be independently aimed at any spot within a predetermined field of view within the earth's atmosphere over essentially non-overlapping beam paths;
• detecting means for detecting the presence and instantaneous position of an attack missile penetrating within said predetermined field of view for travel therethrough to provide position information on said attack missile as said missile travels within said field of view within said atmosphere;
• a point tracker means responsive to said position information for pointing each of said first and second laser weapons over substantially mutually exclusive first and second paths, respectively, extending from the respective laser weapon, at a spot on said attack missile, with said spot being located at a selected position behind the leading edge of said attack missile, whereby such first and second paths do not overlap away from the immediate vicinity of such spot, and tracking said spot during movement of said attack missile, whereby such first and second paths rotationally shift with movement of said attack missile;
• said pointer means comprising further:
• first pointer tracker means associated with said first laser weapon and second pointer tracker means associated with said second laser weapon;
• and
• firing means for simultaneously firing said first and second laser weapons to simultaneously direct continuous wave radiant heating energy from each said laser weapon to said spot on said attack missile for a predetermined duration sufficient to at least weaken said missile at said spot on said missile, whereby said missile may be destroyed.