United States confirms new laser selection.

I got this article from www.spacedaily.com... , I hope that the army comes out this this new weapon.

US Army Eyes Mobile Laser Weapon For Tactical Missile Defense

Redondo Beach - Aug 26, 2003
The U.S. Army and the Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMoD) have selected a Northrop Grumman Corporation design concept for the Mobile Tactical High-Energy Laser (MTHEL) prototype, a laser weapon capable of shooting down short-range rockets and artillery projectiles in flight.
"MTHEL represents a transformational weapon system — the first mobile directed energy weapon that will be able to destroy tactical airborne threats in midair," said Pat Caruana, Northrop Grumman Space Technology vice president for missile defense.

"The system meets critical air and missile defense needs for both the U.S. Army and ImoD and represents the culmination of over 30 years of Northrop Grumman investments in high-energy lasers."

The choice of a design concept is a key step preceding development of the MTHEL prototype, which will take place during fiscal years 2004 through 2007.

Caruana noted MTHEL's ability to destroy airborne targets has been proven by the THEL/Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrator (ACTD), a Northrop Grumman-developed system now at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. In tests, THEL/ACTD (now called the MTHEL Testbed) has shot down 28 Katyusha rockets, fired singly and in salvos, and five artillery projectiles.

Selection of the Northrop Grumman MTHEL design concept resulted from an alternate systems review held in June in Huntsville, Ala. U.S. Army and ImoD officials selected the design from among several alternatives presented. The Army's Air, Space and Missile Defense Program Executive Office administers and executes the MTHEL program, using both Army and ImoD funding.

"MTHEL will bring speed-of-light defense to the battlefield, but it will act and feel like any other air defense system, said Joe Shwartz, Northrop Grumman's MTHEL program manager.

"It will be operated by soldiers and supported in the field, mostly by the use of existing maintenance and logistical infrastructure. This enables both a seamless integration into current warfighting concept of operations, while at the same time positioning the Army for the future."

Laser weapons operate by projecting a highly focused, high-power beam of light that delivers enough energy on a rocket or artillery projectile to explode it in midair.

The cost per shot, primarily cost of the chemicals used to fuel the laser, is expected to be in the thousands of dollars-—far less expensive than the cost of kinetic energy defense systems, in which a sophisticated rocket or projectile collides with a target to destroy it. Kinetic energy kill vehicles are not reusable.

Northrop Grumman Space Technology is the pre-eminent builder of laser weapon systems. It is a leader in the development of high-energy lasers, both chemical and solid state.


[Edited on 26-8-2003 by jetsetter]

I'm willing to put a grand on the fact we already had this capability, we're just putting it out there as a warning.

Interesting, hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

For more information on the MTHEL laser system visit: www.globalsecurity.org...

This type of laser technology sounds similar to a post I read yesterday about a "new weapon used in Iraq mounted on a tank that seemed to shoot a laser/lightening/flamethrower, that melted everything in it's path including vehicles, busses, and people....can't remember the post, but I will find it and link up later.

I (and others) have been telling you about THEL for ages, hehe.... These are already in limited operation.... Also, there is a plane-mounted version, on the nose, but only on larger planes as far as I know, nothing fighter-sized...more like KC-11s and C130's....

I have read and seen shows about such plane mounted lasers Gazrok. Actually I think it was "In Search Of" on Sci-Fi. They were talking about these while discussing some of the Tesla projects and how these were sort of a result of unfinished work done by Tesla.

I have known about MTHEL for a while to but this the the only news I have herd about it in a while.

As I mentioned....and others, hehe...

I was specifically referring to THEL, not lasers in general...

By no means, am I the only one who's ever mentioned them, of course....

Nice find, to see some more official announcing....

I'm surprised FULCRUM hasn't posted a message about how "Russia has lasers that put the US's to shame!!!!"

lol

Careful with believing that it was a rense.com article...
I thought the lasers only had to be hot enough to destroy cables and guidence systems, - not melt busses as the rense story suggested...

Remember that all energy is convertable to other forms of energy. At the level of power throughput that these new weapons have-6 Megajoules and up-the light energy is converted to heat AND kinetic energy upon contacting an object. It is the kinetic hit that shreds the relatively thin skin of the target. Older weapons were meant to be used on satellites, and would be fired for several seconds, in order to heat the target and fry it, turn light into heat. It is the kinetic hit of the high power laser pulse that is so attractive, there is no defense. It does'n't matter if the missile is polished to a mirror finish to reflect light, or spinning to avoid burning on one side. The sucker hits so hard it would be like walking onto a highway and spinning around in front of an on-coming truck.

fulcrum does not visits this forum anymore, and russia had laser technology since the 60's, even amers bought laser powering generator from russia in 1995.

Can it shoot down incoming asteroids? That is a weapon the world can use. We all know the Earth is doomed by those things and maybe our generation wont see it but it is as inevitable as death for the Earth to be slammed again.

It's nice to see some official info on this. I saw some of the first tests on rocket boosters at White Sands when I was in the Navy in the mid 70's. VERY IMPRESSIVE.

My neighbor works for Northrop Grumman as an RF Design Engineer ... maybe he know something?