By Shaun Davies
ninemsn
The US government has contracted aerospace company Boeing to develop an artillery-destroying laser beam for its monster "Dragon Wagon" trucks.
Boeing will create preliminary plans for a high-energy laser designed to blow rockets, artillery shells and mortar rounds out of the sky.
The "rugged beam control system" laser will be mounted on the US military's 10-tonne Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck, nicknamed the Dragon Wagon.
If the initial design phase is successful, Boeing will attempt to develop an actual laser-packing Dragon Wagon.
"We consider this program an important win for Boeing because it supports a cornerstone of the army's high-energy laser program," Boeing Missile Defence Systems vice president Pat Shanahan said.
"We believe this is the next step for developing a weapon system that can change the face of the battlefield."
Boeing has developed several other laser technologies for the US military, most notably its airborne laser, a modified 747 jumbo jet with a ray gun inside.
The laser-toting jumbo (see artist's impression, pictured) is designed to destroy ballistic missiles during their initial boost phase.
Boeing recently issued a statement trumpeting the latest successful test of the airborne laser, but Democrats in the US congress have raised questions about the expensive project's viability.
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