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Army's High-Speed Laser Hits Shell
AP ^ | 11/09/2002 | Unknown

Posted on 11/09/2002 2:00:22 PM PST by gubamyster

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Weapons that travel far faster than the proverbial speeding bullet are as little as five years from use in combat, say defense officials who used a laser to shoot an artillery shell out of the sky this week.

In a first-of-its-kind feat, the Army used a high-energy laser built by TRW Inc. to heat the shell, fired from a howitzer at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, and cause it to explode in flight. The test was successfully repeated a second time.

The shell, moving at about 1,000 mph, was tracked by radar and heat-sensing infrared sensors, then locked onto and zapped by the laser beam traveling at light speed.

The so-called Mobile Tactical High-Energy Laser is a short-range weapon being co-developed with Israel, which wants it to destroy Katyusha rockets fired at its border villages by Hezbollah guerillas in Lebanon.

The chemically powered weapon, which looks like a searchlight, is one of a handful of laser devices the Pentagon is working on under the umbrella of missile defense.

In earlier tests, the Army used the tactical laser to shoot down 25 Katyushas, both singly and in salvos. Artillery shells, however, generate far less heat than do rockets and are more difficult to track, officials said. Also, since rockets are pressurized, they are easier to detonate than are shells.

``This was, science-wise, a significant accomplishment,'' said William Congo, a spokesman for the Army Space and Missile Defense Command.

Before, the only defense against a lobbed shell was to bulk up on armor, move out of the way or dig in, said Dan Goure, vice president of the Lexington Institute, a nonprofit think tank in Arlington, Va. The ability to intercept a shell changes that.

``Now, in theory, this kind of capability allows you to deny that kind of attack,'' Goure said.

The tactical laser could enter use in 2007. Since development began in 1996, the Army, the Israeli Ministry of Defense and TRW have spent $250 million on the project.

It is designed for use against shells, mortars, short-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and air-to-surface munitions. It could also target helicopters and small aircraft, including robotic drones.

Officials hope to shrink the weapon enough to allow it to be mounted on a truck, allowing it to be deployed where needed.

``It's movable, it's not mobile. What we are moving toward is a much smaller, mobile device,'' Congo said. An artists rendering of the actual deployed weapon shows it assembled from two tractor-trailers, the laser protruding on top.

The weapon would also have to be nimble enough to destroy multiple rounds as quickly as they are fired.

``Shooting down a single artillery shell is pretty cool, but artillery shells don't come in ones,'' said Christopher Hellman, a senior analyst at the Center for Defense Information in Washington.

Other related weapons the U.S. military is developing include the Airborne Laser, a $3.7 billion project to mount a laser aboard a Boeing 747. The flying laser is being built to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles shortly after launch.

A July report by the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, found the Air Force has underestimated the complexity - as well as time and cost - of developing the Airborne Laser system. Even today, it remains ``very difficult'' to calculate the project's cost and schedule, according to the report.

Also under development are space-based lasers, which would also target ballistic missiles, and ground-based systems that could take out orbiting satellites, crippling enemy communications.

© Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained In this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

11/09/2002 14:50 APO


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: laser; military; miltech; weapons
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1 posted on 11/09/2002 2:00:23 PM PST by gubamyster
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To: gubamyster
The Future is Now!!!
2 posted on 11/09/2002 2:07:45 PM PST by Commander8
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To: gubamyster
The shell, moving at about 1,000 mph, was tracked by radar and heat-sensing infrared sensors, then locked onto and zapped by the laser beam traveling at light speed.

What's the big deal? My ex-wife used to do that with my money. Only faster.

3 posted on 11/09/2002 2:08:02 PM PST by isthisnickcool
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To: gubamyster

Tactical High Energy Laser Beam Director

4 posted on 11/09/2002 2:18:15 PM PST by mdittmar
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To: gubamyster
Army's High-Speed Laser Hits Shell

Actually, even the low-speed lasers are fairly fast.

5 posted on 11/09/2002 2:20:57 PM PST by Interesting Times
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To: gubamyster
Pardon my ignorance, but does a variance in visibility affect the use of laser weaponry, or does it operate in a frequency which will penetrate clouds, smoke, etc.?
6 posted on 11/09/2002 2:22:50 PM PST by Jeff Chandler
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To: Commander8
We're witnessing a revolution in warfare as big as the introduction of gunpowder. Bigger maybe. So much of what passes for weaponry now will be gone from the scene in 20 years. Aircraft are especially vulnerable. This is mind boggling.
7 posted on 11/09/2002 2:25:32 PM PST by Arkie2
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To: gubamyster; All
-Israel's Arrow Anti-Missile System and the THEL...--
8 posted on 11/09/2002 2:28:11 PM PST by backhoe
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To: mdittmar

Looks like a big UFO killer to me. Hehe :)
9 posted on 11/09/2002 2:28:29 PM PST by demlosers
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To: gubamyster

Thank You Ronald Reagan

10 posted on 11/09/2002 2:29:29 PM PST by ChadGore
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To: Arkie2
I think Rumsfeld is keenly aware of this and that's why he canceled the existing big gun projects the Army had in development.
11 posted on 11/09/2002 2:29:58 PM PST by lelio
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To: gubamyster
Waiiiit! That Star Wars stuff doesn't work! Waaaaaaaaa!
12 posted on 11/09/2002 2:30:16 PM PST by Republic of Texas
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To: Arkie2
We're witnessing a revolution in warfare as big as the introduction of gunpowder. Bigger maybe. So much of what passes for weaponry now will be gone from the scene in 20 years. Aircraft are especially vulnerable. This is mind boggling.

On the tech. horizon, I've read that the smaller solid state Lasers are not too far away, instead the bulky chemical type lasers.

13 posted on 11/09/2002 2:32:02 PM PST by demlosers
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To: lelio
I was just about to say that. This sounds like a better use of money than just a bigger gun.
14 posted on 11/09/2002 2:32:11 PM PST by Republic of Texas
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Comment #15 Removed by Moderator

To: mdittmar

"Please do not look directly into the laser with your one remaining good eye."

16 posted on 11/09/2002 2:33:06 PM PST by ChadGore
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To: gubamyster
Hmmm, the decision on scrapping the Crusader artillary system looks better now.
17 posted on 11/09/2002 2:33:26 PM PST by Forgiven_Sinner
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To: Arkie2
Shields Up!

Seriously, the only difference is, unlike in star trek, we will be able to shoot OUT while the shields are up and the enemy will not be able to shoot IN.
18 posted on 11/09/2002 2:34:55 PM PST by thedugal
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Comment #19 Removed by Moderator

To: gubamyster
Gimme one for the back of my F-250 so I can drive in Houston traffic.
20 posted on 11/09/2002 2:37:09 PM PST by Blue Screen of Death
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