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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A high-energy laser weapon designed to defend Israel's northern border with Lebanon has successfully shot down two Russian-built test rockets at once, the U.S. Army said Wednesday.
The test Monday at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico marked the first trial of the Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL) against multiple rockets in the air at the same time. The THEL "technology demonstrator" -- the world's first high-energy laser designed for operational use -- shot down a lone Katyusha rocket at White Sands for the first time on June 6.
"We've just turned science fiction into reality," Lt. Gen. John Costello, head of the Huntsville, Ala.-based Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC), said of the first shooting down of a 10-foot-long 122 mm unguided rocket.
In Monday's test, the rockets, similar to those that Hizbollah fundamentalist guerrillas have fired at Israel from Lebanon, were traveling 16-km (10-mile) trajectories at more than 330 meters (1,000 feet) a second when destroyed by the laser, SMDC spokeswoman Gerda Sherrill said. The system, which destroys targets with beams of intense light, is tentatively scheduled to be delivered to Israel by the end of February in the absence of further funding, she said.
The handover could be delayed for another year or more if Israel and the United States reach agreement on the proposed joint development of a more mobile version dubbed MTHEL, SMDC officials said. In that case, the THEL -- which includes a fire-control radar, pointer-tracker and command center that take up several truck-sized shipping containers -- would remain at White Sands for additional development, testing and evaluation, SMDC said.
TRW Inc., the program's prime contractor, had no comment on the test-firings or on talks about a possible mobile version, said Brooks McKinney, a spokesman for the company's Redondo Beach, Ca.-based Space and Electronics Group. In any case, an unspecified number of additional tests against multiple armed targets are to be carried out before the system is delivered to Israel, the SMDC said. The next are scheduled for Sept. 8 or 11, depending on the weather at White Sands.
The test on Wednesday marked a major milestone in the four-year-old, $250-million THEL program. Originally, it had been scheduled for July 17 but was postponed to avoid complicating the Middle East peace talks then under way at the U.S. presidential retreat at Camp David, Md., SMDC officials said.
^ REUTERS@
Israel is surrounded by 22 Arab countries and this laser may be the difference between life and death at any moment. Our side just can't make up our minds about the politics of the laser defense. The Clintons believe if we just "share" our nuclear technology with the world, the world will be safer since everybody would be "equal".
Fat Chance!
Isn't the relevant question how fast the incoming missiles travel?
Does this mean that we have to credit Ronald Reagan with yet ANOTHER visionary success?
the rockets . . . were traveling 16-km (10-mile) trajectories at more than 330 meters (1,000 feet) a second
That is not a question, that is a given.
Pres. Reagan was looking at protecting against incoming ICMBs, which travel much faster.
Any bets that China has the design plans for THEL already?
Rocket speeds do vary, and I am not familiar enough with Russian missiles to know whether they could have been adjusted for the tests.
As I recall, Reagan did not limit his vision to "incoming" ICBMs. If the laser cannot destroy incoming missiles or warheads at their current speed, could the lasers be deployed in orbit such that they could destroy ICBMs in mid-flight? If this is not feasible, is it possible to build submarines with this laser and necessary support equipment which could accomplish the same task from international waters during the boost phase?
Why are we not moving to deploy a system like this for our own defense?
Star Wars lives!
And with Gore more years they'll be able to deploy it.
Sounds like it will work better than those "Patriot" missles.
They are definitely God's chosen people.
I agree with you.
The ABM shield can't rely on just one type of defensive weapon. Lasers apparently have the power and are qualified to be part of the system. Re-entry phase rocket interceptors complicate things for the attacker because of the need to deploy decoys, and smart rocks and brilliant pebbles make it tough for decoys. A good mix of devices will severely constrain the attack, if the shield is large enough. The best time to disable an IRBM or ICBM is just before boost phase, which might require orbital devices already in place. It's going to cost big bucks,but what is the alternative.
I don't understand how a laser can do this. If it works by burning a hole in the rocket, it better work fast, as the few square inches of focussed heat isn't exactly on a test stand. And burning a hole in a rocket is no guarantee of a kill, anyway. Anyone have details on the methodology?
I am reminded of the test shack that was blown up by...a cruise missile (?) some years ago. Turned out the shack was pressurized with inflammable gas and only had corrugated tin walls. In short the test was doped up. Wonder how much doping the laser test had.
lazers that fire on launch... would work. ICBMS take a while to break out of sub sonic speed. like the space shuttle. Could EASILY take out missles on launch. THERE is no guarantee that the "given" rocket speed, is the upper limit of the lazer's ability to track, target and fry with lazer light (or light particle pulses). Electomagnetic pulse weapons are coming on line as well, and they are instantaneous and NOT limited to light speed. Gravity and magnetic pulse waves are instantaneous, and once targeted to a projected flight path could disable a bird on the wing.
I think the alternative cost that you're looking for is the cost of rebuilding half of Manhattan times the probability that an attack might occur.
Rebuilding half of Manhattan would require a large sum of money, not to mention the loss of human life (capital) in a very short time.
I'd say it's probably worth it, but it would be interesting to see an estimate of the projected costs.
Also, are there any treaty limitations to orbital deployment of these weapons, I mean besides ABM which is null and void as far as I'm concerned? Do any of the stupid UN space treaties limit deployment?
is NOT limited to light speed.
Uhm...everything is limited to light speed.
.... The system, which destroys targets with beams of intense light, is tentatively scheduled to be delivered to Israel by the end of February in the absence of further funding, she said. ...
Any bets on how long it will be until the Chinese and Russians have this weapon ...... the Israelis leak worse than an Arkansas chicken coop roof ....
Lasers do not have to emit visible light. They are, more broadly, electromagnetic energy. Jamming or disrupting the rockets circuits would be sufficient to render it non-functional.
Gravity and magnetic pulse waves are instantaneous
That's some very advanced tech. It won't be ready for field testing for several years at best.
is tentatively scheduled to be delivered to Israel by the end of February in the absence of further funding, she said.
What? How much did this Israeli weapon cost U.S. taxpayers only to be resold to China, India, and any other interested buyer?
Do any of the stupid UN space treaties limit deployment
Rule No. 1 : No nuclear weapons are allowed in space.
Don't ICBMs sitting in their launch tubes implicitly violate the intent of these useless treaties?
Rule No. 2 : A laser hit of sufficient energy would do something adverse to the fairing of an aerodynamic form. My guess : >>>> The projectile would begin to tumble and at that speed would tear itself apart.
An article about the THEL was posted months ago. There is a website with all the info you could want on the THEL. Just search for "THEL". The laser doesn't punch a small hole in the target. Apparently, once the beam is on the target, the energy is absorbed by the metal, causing the entire target, or a major area of it to melt. The beam from the THEL can be held on the target for up to 7 seconds. This weapon has already been tested here in the U.S.
Bump
Having been on the recieving end of 122 rockets all I can say is.........Hooray!!!
Still,that would have to be a pretty busy unit to deal with massed Kat launchers.
In Nam they would launch them from crossed sticks or wooden troughs,not much fun.
NO, it aint. gravity pulses are INSTANTANEOUS... It leaves the sun and arrives EXACTLY the same time everywhere. Thus the "logic" between folding space with a warp drive or black hole. Electro magnetism is exactly thesame thing. Were you to send an electromagnetic pulse towards earth from Jupiter IT would arrive instantaneously, not 5-10 minutes later. Radio waves and light waves are not as fast as Gravity. If the receiving device is sensitive enough to process a gravity signature from outer space, it can receive communications the instant they are generated on the other end. NO joke. Gravity is NOT limited to lightspeed.
I understand they are partially complete with the intermediate stages of testing it in San Diego. From what I have heard, it hits the target so fast, NO trajectory computations are needed. Point and click. Boom boom, Out go the lights.
Since it's purely a defensive weapon the US should defray its expenses by selling it to other countries threatened by their neighbors, like Lebanon. Maybe, as a bonus, it could down attacking warplanes, too.
Very true. Also consider this. It is MUCH easier to hit an inbound missile with a laser weapon than a missile in the launch and acceleration mode.
1. You are using a laser weapon. No need to detonate or initiate your weapon at the correct instant in order to score a hit. Like you said, point and shoot.
2. An inbound missile presents a MUCH slower perceived motion target. By that it is meant that eliminating the need for precise detonation timing, all one is concerned with is the lateral movement of the target. This can be as slow as 20 feet per second. Kinda like "Why didn't Oswald shoot Kennedy head on while he approached the School Book Depository while traveling north on Houston street?" There would have been little to no perceived motion of the target in relation to the shooter. This would be the OBVIOUS shot to attempt.
Ps. Answer? Oswald did not shoot Kennedy. DOH!
TLI.
A really big one would be nice!!
Yeah and about 200 of them pointed at incomming Chinese and Russian missiles.
Wouldn't that be a maser then, not a laser?
That is, microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation?
"Were you to send an electromagnetic pulse towards earth from Jupiter IT would arrive instantaneously, not 5-10 minutes later"
Could you give me a cite for that, please? Light is electromagnetic energy. Light is subject to the speed of light.
"A really big one would be nice!!"
Which reminds me of the 'fly is open' thread... :)
Were you to send an electromagnetic pulse towards earth from Jupiter IT would arrive instantaneously, not 5-10 minutes later.
When I send a pulse of electromagnetic energy at a frequency of 144.xx Mhz to the moon. I hear the morse code echoed back 1.8 seconds later (more or less). Radio waves are electromagnetic pulses.
I was first licenced as WN5RSB back in '72.
/john
You send a WAVE generated by electromagnetic energy--but an electromagnet's force is instantaneous... hence the ability of a supercollider to accellorate particles at speeds exceeding lightspeed. It IS being done. There is a big difference between your radiowave and an instantaneous electromagnetic field. The field is used to generate a wave. But magnetism is not a WAVE, or signal, per se. It can be perceived that way, or it can be measured (in the case of gravity) by a sensitive gravitometer. Gravity and magnetism are both instantaneous. The fact that they are, and light is not is one of the problems of the "unified theory" but here I am out of my field. I am sure you probably understand it better than I can explain it.
Yeah! We're surprised you're having so much trouble with such a simple concept.
I'm glad that someone sees what is going on. Thank You. It's amazing, AMAZING, to me how many people, even on Free Republic, don't.
...hence the ability of a supercollider to accellorate particles at speeds exceeding lightspeed.
Cite this for me. You are mistaken.
From the physics department's website at the Australian National University:
"Gravitational waves, predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity, are ripples in the curvature of spacetime which propagate at the speed of light. They are emitted in the most violent events in the universe such as supernovae, coalescence of neutron stars and black hole collisions. The ideal instrument to detect them is a giant laser interferometer with suspended mirrors. It must be able to detect a length change of at least 10^(-20)m in 1 km."
You don't know what you are talking about. Read a book occasionally...
I have been waiting for a cite from this self-sure expert. Don't hold your breath. I sense a pie-pan fedora here.
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