http://news.myway.com/top/article/id/401978|top|05-07-2004::08:06|reuters.html Israeli-U.S. Laser Downs Long-Range Missile in Test May 7, 7:54 AM (ET) JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A laser beam under joint Israeli-U.S. development destroyed a long-range rocket for the first time in a test in the skies over the American Southwest, Israel's Defense Ministry said on Friday. Israel has sought an effective defense against ballistic missiles since 1991 when Iraq launched Scuds into the Jewish state during the first Gulf War. It has since developed the Arrow anti-ballistic missile with U.S. funding. "This is a significant step forward," a ministry spokesman said of the test on May 4 of the "Nautilus" Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser (MTHEL) held at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Israel sees the Nautilus as another potential countermeasure to possible ballistic attack by enemies, which would include most Arab states and Iran. In turn, they see Israel's undeclared nuclear arsenal as the biggest strategic threat to the region. The Nautilus laser is being developed mainly by U.S. aerospace giant Northrop Grumman Corp with the help of several Israeli high-tech firms specializing in optics and military hardware. "The (Nautilus) project has the potential to fill an important operational need for Israel," said Shmuel Keren, the Israeli military's director of weapons systems and infrastructure development. "The (Nautilus) system can answer our need for a system which can intercept missiles and cruise missiles for which currently there is no effective solution." The Defense Ministry declined to elaborate on the test or the exact range of the intercepted missile. In earlier tests the MTHEL laser had successfully eliminated 28 short-range Katyusha rockets and five artillery shells in flight as well as several "hostile objects" on the ground.
It was just a joke and I admit that i didn't read the full article. Actually anything that makes our military more effective and efficient I have no problem with.
Any money we put into missile defense should be going into this system, not the "fire a missile at a missile" system. The physics of that is just ridiculous. Firing a laser on the other hand is a hell of a lot easier if you get the technology down. You don't have to worry about countermeasures, intelligent missiles, missile malfunctions, etc. Fire, it takes a fraction of a second to see the result. Didn't work? Fire again.
I know it's not a completely serious question, but do you remember a few years ago when China was testing nukes off that Taiwanese island? The US complained about it on behalf of the Taiwanese and China stated that they have ballistic missiles that could reach Los Angeles. I believe it was Taiwan. It may have been Hong Kong right after China's acquisition.
I wonder if rimrocker noticed a blackout during the test. These things take an absurd amount of electrical power. And by the way, I completely agree with Major on the physics of the matter. Beam defenses: go for it. Hitting missiles with missiles: only if you have major (no name joke intended) campaign contributers building them, and even then only if you're stupid.
The real question is... Why isn't the word... "laser" .... in quotations as it ALWAYS ALWAYS should be?
Only Dr. Evil puts it in quotes (were you making a joke reference to Austin Powers?). If anything, it should be all caps, though since it has become a word in and of itself (rather than simply an abbreviation), AP Style says no capitalization, and Reuters probably follows pretty close to AP Style.
