Sci Fi Comes To Life

Military Lasers were in the realm of science fiction for most of the last fifty years.

Then, for about the last twenty years, they've been a tool - for aiming, measuring ranges and so on.

But the long-standing goal of using lasers as a tactical weapon seems to be imminent.

According to security sources familiar with the design, the MTHEL will be able to fire a beam every five seconds and follow 15 targets simultaneously. It will also be able to turn glass canopies on fighter jets into opaque glass after a one-second blast. The MTHEL could also be used against helicopters.

In field tests conducted since development of the system, the Nautilus has succeeded in downing over thirty Katyusha rockets, and several artillery shells.

Advanced testing in New Mexico further improved the laser’s targeting system and enabled it to down a long-range missile.

So they're already using lasers for tactical anti-missile defense.

Yes, this is a little simpler than defending against strategic missiles (like the North Koreans are developing), but only in the sense that the current technology needs to be iterated another time or two and the reservations of the anti-missile-defense left will be as obsolete as a Buck Rogers comic.

Posted by Mitch at July 26, 2004 05:11 AM | TrackBack