THEL laser shoots down artillery shell

[Dr Mordrid]

The TRW Tactical High Energy Laser weapons system (THEL) has sucessfully shot down an artillery shell in flight;

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/reuters20021105_531.html

Its also shot down 25 theater attack missiles in flight, both singly and in salvos.

Dr. Mordrid

[efty]

How effective would the laser be if the shell was covered with a reflecting shield?

Ofcourse that would make it a great target for other means to bring it down, but I am pretty sure a compromise can be found in order to mask it and yet reflect the laser at least partially in order to reach its target.

[GNEP]

mirror balls in the sky - cosmic disco man!

[Dr Mordrid]

It can create a powerful shock wave even on a reflecting surface. One test film I saw had it shooting down a drone with a highly polished aluminum surface....which did no good whatsoever.

Dr. Mordrid

[High_Jumbllama]

Now, did they actually have a tracking system or did they just program in the course and position of the projectile? I don't doubt the laser. I doubt the tracking system.

[Sethos]

That's some pretty cool technology, kind of like STARWARS from the ground instead of space interesting to see how it develops...

~Sethos

[Dr Mordrid]

At the top is a what looks like a pair of binoculars;



A highly advanced radar and satellites share the initial detection duties. At the top is what looks like a pair of binoculars. This is actually a wide beam laser detection and tracking system that detects and locks on the target, computes the range and controls THEL's adaptive optics in real time.

Adaptive optics allow it to remain focussed on a target even through thermal distortions and density changes in the atmosphere, much like the new generation of astronomic telescopes can do.

A very similar, but much more powerful, laser is built into the Air Forces YAL-1A ABL (AirBorn Laser);



This 747 based platform has been in flight tests since last August and is slated for deployment on an accelerated schedule. It can detect, track and shoot down missiles during the launch phase at ranges of over 500 km....for now.

In practice the YAL-1A would work much like the AWAC's in that it would patrol in figure 8's. When satellite or its own detection systems are triggered it tracks, sets a firing solution and shoots. It can track multiple targets at once, shooting them in priority sequence.

Dr. Mordrid

[GNEP]

Let's just hope that geopolitics never really takes off in the US...

"Expand or die" - bye-bye Canada!

[ALBPM]

Ya, we do that all the time down here in New Mexico

Every week there are missles launched from one end of the state to the range down South of us. Every now and then you'll see some really wierd looking contrails overhead headed toward the range.

[RichL]

Originally posted by High_Jumbllama
Now, did they actually have a tracking system or did they just program in the course and position of the projectile? I don't doubt the laser. I doubt the tracking system.

I'm sure they have tracking systems good enough. AEGIS for a start.
Many years ago I worked for a defence contractor, and I was told that our current shipboard anti-missile system could, if required, track and destroy incoming artillery shells.
The British Army had in the 70's (and probably still have) a small radar system they fitted to armoured Land Rovers that was capable of identifying the direction of incoming sniper rifle fire. And these were both systems currently in use, not in design stages. Some of the design stuff was pretty amazing.

The speed of an artillery or gun shell is limited by the propellant. IIRC even modern propellants cant push a projectile at much more than Mach2 (or was it Mach 3?). It was one thing that made the SR71 possible. Nothing could go fast enough to catch it.

[GT98]

Originally posted by RichL

The speed of an artillery or gun shell is limited by the propellant. IIRC even modern propellants cant push a projectile at much more than Mach2 (or was it Mach 3?). It was one thing that made the SR71 possible. Nothing could go fast enough to catch it.

I'm sure that missiles could go fast or faster then the SR-71, but with the intercept speeds of both objects reaching say mach 2 or 3, there isnt much room for error to hit the target due to the high speed involved and the lack of manuverablity of both objects due to speed.

[UtwigMU]

Now imagine couple of hundred TN90 (Israeli - Dogbert are you familiar with them) 7m barrel, 150mm howitzers with effective range of 35km with base bleed shells pounding all over.

Could that thingie counter them?

[Dr Mordrid]

It's not Israeli artillery these things are aimed at, and artillery isn't even the primary mission for THEL. It's main mission is theater and tactical missiles.

Shooting the shell out of the sky was mainly an exercise to prove it could be done with a laser....and with laser beams travelling at the speed of light aiming is much easier than using projectiles to do the job.

Dr. Mordrid

[Jammrock]

Where can I get one?

The Army and TRW Inc, which developed the weapon, said in a joint statement that the laser tracked, locked onto and fired a burst of concentrated light energy photons at the speeding shell over the White Sands test range in New Mexico.

Jammrock

[Dr Mordrid]

Once they get the power truck downsized I'm sure you'll find all the MTHEL's (deployment name = Mobile THEL) you could ever want in Israel and allied countries in the middle east

Update;

TRW is predicting that MTHEL's will transition from using chemical lasers to using SOLID STATE lasers by 2010

They are also working on a 100 KW solid state laser for mounting on Humvee's by 2007 and much larger ones for the Navy's upcoming DD(X) destroyers defensive systems.



DD(X) is a Stealth destroyer 210 meters (689 feet) long and will be the first of a whole family of vessels to include destroyers, cruisers and Littoral combat ships. Many of the new technologies are to be retro-fitted into the existing fleet of Aegis cruisers and destroyers.

Dr. Mordrid