Army's High-Speed Laser Hits Shell

AP ^ | 11/09/2002 | Unknown

[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

[Commander8]

The Future is Now!!!

[isthisnickcool]

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.

[mdittmar]

Tactical High Energy Laser Beam Director

[Interesting Times]

Army's High-Speed Laser Hits Shell

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

[Jeff Chandler]

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.?

[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.

[backhoe]

-Israel's Arrow Anti-Missile System and the THEL...--

[demlosers]

Looks like a big UFO killer to me. Hehe :)

[ChadGore]

Thank You Ronald Reagan

[lelio]

I think Rumsfeld is keenly aware of this and that's why he canceled the existing big gun projects the Army had in development.

[Republic of Texas]

Waiiiit! That Star Wars stuff doesn't work! Waaaaaaaaa!

[demlosers]

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.

[Republic of Texas]

I was just about to say that. This sounds like a better use of money than just a bigger gun.

[ChadGore]

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

[Forgiven_Sinner]

Hmmm, the decision on scrapping the Crusader artillary system looks better now.

[thedugal]

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.

[Blue Screen of Death]

Gimme one for the back of my F-250 so I can drive in Houston traffic.

[Arkie2]

The Air Force has a 747 flying now with a chemical laser onboard they claim can take down a scud missile in the boost phase. They also claim it can defend itself against fighters and even enemy air to air missiles. Wouldn't surprise me if this thing didn't get a test run in the upcoming GW II.

[TeleStraightShooter]

Bah-dum-pah
*rim-shot*

[Arkie2]

Have you heard the one the Brits are working on? It involves charging the hull armour on their tanks to destroy the armour penetrating rounds currently in use. Can you say "Polarize the hull"?

[Momaw Nadon]

[ChadGore]

Re:Have you heard the one the Brits are working on? It involves charging the hull armour on their tanks to destroy the armour penetrating rounds currently in use. Can you say "Polarize the hull"?

Hmmmm sounds interesting. Where might I find out more ?

[demlosers]

Yup!

excerpt:

US Begins Testing Airborne Laser To Shoot Down Missiles

flash gordon would be proud
Washington (AFP) Jul 19, 2002
A jumbo jet retrofitted to carry a laser gun capable of shooting down enemy missiles has been flight-tested for the first time as part of US efforts to build a controversial missile defense system, according to defense and industry officials.

The modified Boeing 747-400 took off from an airport in Wichita, Kansas, Thursday for a two-hour flight to check the aircraft's aerodynamic performance and system operation, the officials said.

The test marked the beginning of a months-long flight-worthiness test program for the first airborne laser aircraft, which sports a nose turret and top-mounted laser targeting pod.

The plane is expected to become a key component of the multi-layered missile defense system envisaged by President George W. Bush.

end Snip....

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/719355/posts

[Calvin Locke]

Looks like a big UFO killer to me.

Looks like the real reason Art Bell is retiring (yet again) to me.

[Cobra64]

I'll get one when they offer one that will fit on my Hummer.

[xJones]

Thank You Ronald Reagan

And thank you, Edward Teller.

[Interesting Times]

Bah-dum-pah

*rim-shot*

Bless you.

I was bracing myself for an earnest explanation...

[demlosers]

...Wouldn't surprise me if this thing didn't get a test run in the upcoming GW II.

Thats exactly what I would do. Nothing better than war time conditions to test a new prototype weapon.

[js1138]

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

Thank you. I got a chuckle out of the title.

[usadave]

``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.

Wow, Christopher, is it really "pretty cool"? Or would "narly" be a more accurate description?

[Arkie2]

Go here

http://www.gyre.org/news/cache/2449

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Bump for Death Star defense.

[demlosers]

Many of the grenades were fired from point-blank range but the only damage to the APC was cosmetic. The vehicle was driven away under its own power.

Cool.

[RAY]

The technology to track and hit a fast moving object with a laser does not surprise me. However, to produce a beam with enough energy to destroy an object at great distance amazes me.

[thedugal]

Actually, yes, I have heard of it and I like it. Of course, if you ask me, the 21st century isn't official until I have a flying car, but that's just a personal note.

[Arkie2]

Your Mr Fusion powered car is in dealer showrooms now! LOL

[Tango Whiskey Papa]

"You don't hurt 'em if you don't hit 'em." --General Lewis "Chesty" Puller

[Hellmouth]

What about counter-measures to the lasers, like
putting a mirrored finish on the shells, rockets, and missiles?

[Wissa]

I'll bet China wishes that Clinton was still President.

[Swiss]

That is what is impressing me as well, to distory an artillery shell in flight would mean either cooking off the explosive inside (by heating the shell) or by setting off the more sensitive fuse of the shell.

From what I have read of fires on the USS Lexington during WWII and other fires involving shells it took a lot of heat to cook off a shell. Very impressive stunt to do this with a Lasor in flight to a spinning shell.

[ChadGore]

Thanks . . that's more of an advancement in reactive armor, but COOL!.

[templar]

What about counter-measures to the lasers, like putting a mirrored finish on the shells, rockets, and missiles?

All expensive. Saddam and Jihad types won't be able to do it.

[templar]

WWII and other fires involving shells it took a lot of heat to cook off a shell.

TNT is melted and cast like lead. I'm not sure what the melting point would be, but is seems more likely that the laser sets off the fuse rather than the charge.

[appeal2]

If Custer had one of these, he would have won.

[Hellmouth]

What about counter-measures to the lasers, like putting a mirrored finish on the shells, rockets, and missiles?

All expensive. Saddam and Jihad types won't be able to do it.

What about the Russian and Chinese types? Won't that make the lasers obsolete and a big waste of money, if their scientists come up with an effective way of coating their weaponry?

[templar]

What about the Russian and Chinese types?

I doubt that we are going to be engaging in minor scuffles with the Russians or Chinese. Big wars are probably going to involve everything available on all sides. I think the lasers might be best suited to defending army bases and cities from small scale attack. Ships too. Rockets, mortars and light artillery slowly eat away at morale and manpower in lower level engagements. IMO, These type of engagements will probably be from technologicaly inferior forces, like Viet Nam was. Or Afganistan, maybe.

[nhoward14]

Will we be deploying this LAY-ZUR on frickin' shark heads?

Sincerely, Dr. Evil