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ORLANDO<\/span>, Fla. \u2014<\/strong> U.S.<\/span> Air Force leaders hope to test a new weapon aboard one of their most beloved attack planes within the next year: a\u00a0laser.<\/p>\nA laser-armed C-130 project is U.S.<\/span> Special Operations Command\u2019s top unfunded priority, according to Lt. Gen. Brad Webb, the head of Air Force Special Operations\u00a0Command.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m pretty optimistic,\u201d Webb said of the project Thursday at an Air Force Association-sponsored conference. \u201cThere are a lot of vendors that are really contributing to and continue to push that technology\u00a0along.\u201d<\/p>\n The plan is to install a relatively low-kilowatt laser,<\/strong> do a \u201cproof of concept and go from there,\u201d Webb said, increasing power laser weapon after it\u2019s proven accurate and effective in testing. The command has money \u201cto do the first steps\u201d of the project<\/a>.<\/p>\n Perhaps best known for its 105-millimeter howitzer, the AC<\/span>-130 has received a host of upgrades and improvements in recent years. Newer gunships pack even more firepower, carrying missiles and bombs. Lasers have been attractive to the military as a cost-effective alternative to traditional guns and missile. But making the weapons small, accurate and powerful enough<\/a> has been\u00a0difficult.<\/p>\n As testing advances and the laser weapon gets closer to the battlefield, the rules of engagement must be determined, Webb\u00a0said.<\/p>\n \u201cAt some point \u2026 a policy discussion is going to have to be had on where and how can you use a laser and where and where and how can you not,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I think that\u2019s a discussion to be had further down the\u00a0road.\u201d<\/p>\n The Pentagon has experimenting with laser weapons for decades. In 2009, the Advanced Tactical Laser<\/a> \u2014 fired from a C-130 \u2014 burned a hole<\/a> in the hood of a truck. In 2014, the Navy deployed a laser on an amphibious transport dock in the Persian Gulf. The captain of the ship was given permission<\/a> to use the laser as a defensive\u00a0weapon.<\/p>\n \u201cI still contend that an offensive capability \u2014 which is what we\u2019re looking for in the AFSOC<\/span> contribution to the effort \u2014 is contributing to the defensive aspects that other commands are looking [for],\u201d Webb\u00a0said.<\/p>\n The Air Force and the Pentagon\u2019s Missile Defense Agency spent billions of dollars putting a laser on the nose of the 747 jetliner<\/a> that would be used to shoot down ballistic missiles. The project was canceled in 2012. Webb acknowledged that the project, which didn\u2019t field an operational aircraft, left a bad taste in people\u2019s\u00a0mouths.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are massive supporters within our government and elsewhere on seeing that this technology has a future,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are those that look at the experience of what I think you would have to acknowledge was not a slam dunk success, with respect to the Airborne\u00a0Laser.\u201d<\/p>\n But, Webb said, the laser being eyed for AFSOC<\/span> AC<\/span>-130s \u201cis technology that is very different than\u00a0that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to have this proof of concept,\u201d he said. \u201cLet\u2019s get a layup out of the chute and then we can take this\u00a0step-by-step.\u201d<\/p>\n