The Air Force Research Lab has a whole wing devoted to developing real-life ray gun technology. So why is this "Directed Energy Directorate" now working on systems to keep planes away from parts of Hawaii? Even Air Force officials are stumped.
Not long ago, AFRL's energy weaponeers put out an initial notice that they were looking for ways to "provid[e] a common operational picture for all air traffic intersecting Hawaiian airspace and territorial waters. The system shall provide a warning of aircraft that are known or suspected to be off course and identification of those potentially under the control of individuals acting counter to US interests."
This $1.6 million program, dubbed "SECURE SKIES," would develop "high performance computing hardware and programming methodologies," AFRL noted. The new set of algorithms and gear should be able to share data with the Air Force Intelligence Analysis Agency's SUDDEN SPIRIT program. That's the code name for a secret project so black, even ace code name-breaker William Arkin can't figure it out.
So what's the deal? Is this some new death ray, designed to zap any intruder that dares to come near SUDDEN SPIRIT -- whatever it may be?
"Gee, you've got me!" one extremely knowledgeable Air Force insider tells DANGER ROOM. "We operate a telescope facility on top of Maui, and of course there's Barking Sands on the west coast of Kuaui [that'd be the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility]. Can't imagine any reason to worry about the first; maybe something to do with the second?"
An official at AFRL has a few more answers. He swears there are no blasters involved, saying, "It's just a way to monitor along an airspace so that any plane that comes into that airspace will get ID'd, so they can look into it."
But if SECURE SKIES has no frickin' lasers, why is the Directed Energy Directorate handling it? His guess: pork.
"Sen. [Daniel] Inouye has been sending a lot of business our way," the official says. "He's been trying to bring more technology to Hawaii. And it's easy for him to label us as the [office of primary responsibility] OPR."
