An experimental US-Israeli laser weapon shot down two Katyusha rockets traveling at 330 meters per second in a successful test at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, an army spokesman said Wednesday.
The test Monday was the first time the Theater Higher Energy Laser (THEL) has succeeded in shooting down multiple targets, clearing the way for a final series of the tests in September involving larger numbers of targets, said Marco Morales, a spokesman for the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command.
Israel originally intended to deploy the laser weapon along its northern border to defend against Katyusha rockets fired from Lebanon.
But the Israeli government has given no indication whether it will in fact deploy the THEL, which is transportable in large trucks but not tactically mobile, Morales said.
Plans for development of a tactically mobile THEL have not been funded in the Pentagon's 2001 budget request.
"The biggest challenge is additional funding for the program," said Morales. "The technology is there. They've got it pretty much now. It's just a matter of reducing it more and putting it on a large truck," he said.
The THEL is built around a deuterium flouride chemical laser, which emits a beam that generates temperatures equivalent to those of the surface of the sun.
A radar feeds information about incoming rockets to a computer which directs the system's pointer tracker.
"That points up to the sky and picks up the rocket and starts lazing it right at the point where the munitions are located in the front part of the rocket. It's only a matter of seconds before it heats it up and explodes," Morales said.
The army, meanwhile, is exploring the feasibility of a solid state laser that could be mounted on a Humvee or a truck, use diesel for power, and cost much less per shot than a Patriot missile defense system - WASHINGTON (AFP)
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