Did this military plane cause LA fires? No, it was dismantled in 2014 | Fact check
The claim: Image shows laser-equipped plane that started LA wildfires
A Jan. 10 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows an airplane with a reflective device near the nose.
“Here’s your forest fire starter,” reads the caption on the post.
The post was shared more than 45,000 times in 10 days.
More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page
Our rating: False
The photo is from a 2007 announcement by the Air Force of developments with a prototype plane. The pictured aircraft was disassembled more than a decade ago.
Plane dismantled in 2014
The wildfires in and near Los Angeles that began Jan. 7 have claimed at least 27 lives as of Jan. 16. The ferocity of the blazes and the suddenness of their spread has fueled numerous baseless conspiracy theories about their causes, including that a laser or other directed energy weapon was used to start them.
The aircraft pictured in the post was equipped with a laser, but it had nothing to do with the fires. It was dismantled more than a decade ago, according to media reports and announcements from the military. The plane went through years of expensive tests that showed it wasn’t technically, financially or logistically viable as designed for its intended purpose of shooting down ballistic missiles.
The picture came from a June 28, 2007, announcement of the plane’s arrival at what was then Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. The prototype airborne laser aircraft, later christened the YAL-1, featured the weapon in the nose of a Boeing 747. The laser was intended to shoot down missiles shortly after launch.
The program was costly to get off the ground and was already facing funding cuts by the time the YAL-1 made the flight to Andrews. It was inconsistent in testing, failing to knock down two of its first three targets. The aircraft also needed to be much closer than hoped to have a shot at successfully shooting down missiles.
After more than $5 billion was spent on the program, and knowing billions more would be needed to build and maintain each new plane, the program was shut down. The plane was shipped to a yard for retired aircraft in 2012 and by 2014 had been stripped for parts and scrapped, according to the Air Force.
Fact check: Clip shows plane crash in Chile in 2024, predating LA wildfires
Experts have pointed to a mix of high winds, low humidity and ongoing drought as key factors in the spread of the wildfires in southern California. The cause is under investigation. There is no evidence and no credible reports pointing to a blast from a directed energy weapon.
The false claim that lasers or other energy weapons are the actual cause of wildfires is not a new one. Paste BN debunked claims that directed energy weapons were responsible for the 2023 Maui fires.
Paste BN reached out to the social media user who shared the claim for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Our fact-check sources
- Joint Base Andrews, June 28, 2007, Airborne Laser aircraft slated to provide missile defense
- CNET, June 22, 2007, Political battles over the Airborne Laser
- Reuters, Oct. 21, 2010, US airborne laser fails 2nd shootdown test in row
- Wall Street Journal, Feb. 11, 2011, Pentagon Loses War to Zap Airborne Laser From Budget
- Air & Space Forces Magazine, Jan. 5, 2012, Airborne Laser Test Bed Put To Rest
- Air & Space Forces Magazine, Feb. 27, 2012, Airborne Laser Test Bed Enters Retirement
- Air Force Test Center, Dec. 21, 2020, December 21, 2006: YAL-1A Airborne Laser Returned to the Center After Modification
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.
Paste BN is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta.