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MIRACL, or Mid-Infrared Advanced Chemical Laser, is a directed energy weapon developed by the US Navy. It is a deuterium fluoride laser, a type of chemical laser. The MIRACL laser first became operational in 1980.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 MIRACL at HELSTF )〕 It can produce over a megawatt of output for up to 70 seconds, making it the most powerful continuous wave (CW) laser in the US. Its original goal was to be able to track and destroy anti-ship cruise missiles, but in later years it was used to test phenomenologies associated with national anti-ballistic and anti-satellite laser weapons. Originally tested at a contractor facility in California, as of the later 1990s and early 2000s, it was located at a facility () in the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 Secretary of Defense approves laser experiment to improve satellite protection )〕 The beam size in the resonator is about 21 cm (8.3 in) high and 3 cm (1.2 in) wide.〔 The beam is then reshaped to a 14 x 14 cm (5.5 in x 5.5 in) square.〔 Amid much controversy in October 1997, MIRACL was tested against MSTI-3, a US Air Force satellite at the end of its original mission in orbit at a distance of 432 km (268 mi). MIRACL failed during the test and was damaged〔(MIRACL damaged in experiment ). Journal of Aerospace and Defense Industry News. December 11, 1997. via webarchive.org Accessed May 3, 2014.〕 and the Pentagon claimed mixed results for other portions of the test.〔(Service more tight-lipped about MIRACL's ASAT mission ). Inside the Army, November 30, 1998, Vol. 10, No. 47. via Cryptome.org Accessed May 3, 2014.〕 A second, lower-powered chemical laser was able to temporarily blind the MSTI-3 sensors during the test.〔Koplow, David A. (Death by Moderation: The U.S. Military's Quest for Useable Weapons ). Cambridge University Press, 2010. Accessed May 3, 2014.〕 ==References== * Lowery, Todd (Jan 1998) ("Call it a Miracl" ) ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'' Vol. 54, No. 1:5,6 * Lambakis, Steven (2013) ''On the Edge of Earth: The Future of American Space Power'' ISBN 0813145783 pg 63 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「MIRACL」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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