Posted on 04/17/2017 9:35:29 AM PDT by Brad from Tennessee
Back in the mid-1960's we were told that the 5"-38 gun on our destroyer would be able to hit an incoming 5" round. It might take several rounds to do so, but it could.
This article is from 2002:
It isn’t a matter of hitting it, but being able to do sufficient damage to destroy something that is designed to undergo the stress of being fired out of a gun. Not only is the thing moving very fast, but it’s spinning, meaning that even if you’re able to point and hold a laser beam on one part of the surface (through fog smoke and dust) the part you’re aiming at is constantly rotating away so as to dissipate the heat generated.
We’ve ALWAYS been at war with EastAsia!
The closer it is to the target; the less signal power is required.
For example, laser range finders can be disrupted by using smoke. It depends on the wavelength of the laser and physical geometries of the counter measure.
Even though a momentum weapon can be affected by wind and air density, once it is flying it is difficult to deflect and stop.
Plus for a laser to shoot a projectile down it would require a great deal of energy (and sustained for a period of time — seconds) to destroy the projectile or change its direction. I guess that the goal would be to ignite the explosive if it has one.
It would also require a very precise targeting system.
Point taken
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.