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U.S.-Israeli Laser Destroys Artillery Rounds in Flight

(BBC) - The U.S. army has, for the first time, shot down an artillery shell in flight using a high-powered laser weapon. The laser tracked and locked on to the shell, before firing a stream of concentrated light energy photons and destroying it, at the White Sands, N.M. missile range. The U.S. Army's Space and Missile Defense Command said that "seconds later, at a point well short of its intended destination, the projectile was destroyed." The Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser (MTHEL) is being developed by the TRW Corporation for use by the U.S. military and the Israeli Defense Ministry. Two years ago, it successfully shot down a Katyusha rocket. "This shoot-down shifts the paradigm for defensive capabilities," said Lt. Gen. Joseph Cosumano, head of the missile defense command. "We have shown that even an artillery projectile hurtling through the air at supersonic speed is no match for a laser."
2002-11-06 00:00:00
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