What is MIRACL?

The provocatively-named MIRACL is the United States Navy's only known successful directed energy weapon. It stands for "Mid-Infrared Advanced Chemical Laser" and was originally built to take down anti-ship cruise missiles, but its use has since been extended to test aspects of anti-ballistic missile and anti-satellite laser weapons. Built by TRW Incorporated, the defense wing of which was acquired by Northrop Grumman in 2002, MIRACL is a spin-off of Ronald Reagan's famous Star Wars project, notorious for consuming billions of dollars with little useful hardware in return. MIRACL has not yet been mass produced or installed on ships, but its permanent home is the High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility (HELSTF), at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. MIRACL is the first megawatt-class, continuous wave chemical laser in the world. MIRACL's method of operation can be compared to a rocket engine, where the fuel, ethylene (C2H4) is burned with an oxidizer, nitrogen trifluoride, (NF3). ...  more