You know, I have one simple request. And that is to have sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads!

- “Dr. Evil” in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery 1997

We may not be able to put lasers on the heads of sharks yet but Northrop Grumman has just announced the for-real availability of a lasar weapon called FIRESTRIKE(TM).

Holy shit! Sci-Fi has just become real! Tanks will be outfitted with laser weapons!

Look at the specs on this weapon:

FIRESTRIKE(tm) Laser Features

 Power              15kW laser
 Beam Quality       Nominally 1.5 times the diffraction limit
 Size               Laser head - 12" x 23" x 40" (width, depth, height)
                    Current source - 9" x 13" x 30"
 Runtime            Continuous, as long as power and coolant are
                    provided
 Instant Turn-on    Zero to full power in less than 1/2 second
 Safety             Remote operation, customer interlock access,
                    internal safety sensors
 Control            Common Command and Control (C2) systems and
                    Ethernet interfaces
 Low Power Setting  Provides nominally 100 watt alignment beam
 Weight             400 lbs per LRU
 Ruggedization      Hardened LRUs with compact SSL technology
                    engineered for mobility and field operations

Up to 8 of these units can be “stacked” to create a single 100kW blaster. Additionally, continuous fire is sustainable limited only by available electricity and coolant. It’s not clear from the press release what that exactly means but I’m thinking as long as whatever electrical generation source is being used continues to run, this thing will continue to burn holes in the enemy.

Those dirty little desert-dwelling terrorist bastards don’t see this coming! Stock up on sunscreen, Bin-Laden fans – it shouldn’t be long before these puppies are roasting your asses.