Editing MIRACL (section)

{{Short description|Directed energy weapon}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}

[[Image:Slbd front.jpg|thumb|SeaLite Beam Director, commonly used as the output for the MIRACL.]]
'''MIRACL''', or '''Mid-Infrared Advanced Chemical Laser''', is a [[directed energy weapon]] developed by the US Navy. It is a [[hydrogen fluoride laser|deuterium fluoride laser]], a type of [[chemical laser]].

The MIRACL laser first became operational in 1980.{{r|MIRACL_2002}} It can produce over a [[megawatt]] of output for up to 70 seconds,{{r|FAS page}} making it the most powerful continuous wave (CW) laser in the US.{{r|YAL-1A_FactSheet|page=5}} 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 the former [[Nike-X#MAR|MAR-1]] facility ({{coord|32.632|N|106.332|W|}}) in the [[White Sands Missile Range]] in New Mexico.{{r|DOD_PressRelease1997}}

The beam size in the resonator is about {{convert|21|by|3|cm|abbr=on}} wide. The beam is then reshaped to a {{convert|14|x|14|cm|abbr=on}} square.{{r|FAS page}}

Amid much controversy in October 1997, MIRACL was tested against [[Miniature Sensor Technology Integration-3|MSTI-3]], a [[United States Air Force|US Air Force]] [[satellite]] at the end of its original mission in [[orbit]]{{r|CNN article}} at a distance of {{convert|432|km|abbr=on}}.{{r|Zack_MSTI}} MIRACL failed during the test and was damaged{{r|Bull_1977|page=1}} and the Pentagon claimed mixed results for other portions of the test. A second, lower-powered chemical laser was able to temporarily blind the MSTI-3 sensors during the test.{{r|Koplow|page=[https://archive.org/details/deathbymoderatio0000kopl/page/170 170]}}{{r|Grego_2012|page=7}}