Laser Shoots Down Multiple Targets

SPACEWAR

Laser Shoots Down Multi Targets

TRW is prime contractor for the U.S. Army's Tactical High Energy Laser/Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrator (THEL/ACTD) program. The THEL/ACTD beam director, shown in the photo, is the key optical component of the THEL/ACTD pointer tracker subsystem. It is used to direct the THEL/ACTD high-energy laser beam to its target. Credit: TRW Inc.

Redondo Beach - Sept. 22, 2000
TRW, the U.S. Army Space & Missile Defense Command (USA-SMDC) and the Israel Ministry of Defence (IMoD) have set a new performance standard for directed energy systems by using the Tactical High Energy Laser/Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrator (THEL/ACTD) to repeatedly detect, track, engage and destroy salvos of Katyusha rockets fired in rapid succession.

In a series of two-rocket salvo tests conducted August 28 and September 22 in the rolling, high desert of the Army's White Sands Missile Range, N.M., the THEL/ACTD did twice what no other air defense system has ever been designed to do: detect, track and destroy multiple Katyushas in a single engagement.

The historic multiple rocket shoot-downs were achieved less than four months after TRW, SMDC and IMoD first used THEL/ACTD to destroy a single armed Katyusha in flight. They were performed as part of an on-going program to demonstrate the THEL/ACTD's lethality against short range tactical threats such as Katyusha rockets.

"Killing one rocket was significant, but being able to show that we can consistently kill two or more targets per engagement puts THEL/ACTD in a class by itself," said Lt. Gen. John Costello, Commanding General, USA-SMDC. "These tests are making it increasingly clear that directed energy weapon systems have the potential to provide some unique and very effective defensive options on the tactical battlefield."

"These tests have demonstrated the unique capability of high energy laser weapons for tough air defense missions," said Major General Dr. Isaac Ben Israel, Director of Israel's Directorate of Defense Research and Development, which co-sponsors the THEL/ACTD program with the U.S. Army. "It is now time to move forward to grasp this remarkable opportunity."

"The success of the THEL/ACTD program is a direct result of our team's relentless drive to develop a effective defense against short range rockets," said Timothy W. Hannemann, executive vice president and general manager, TRW Space & Electronics Group, the Army's THEL/ACTD system prime contractor.

"Our careful, disciplined approach to integrating and testing this revolutionary system allowed the Army, the Israel Ministry of Defence and the TRW-led contractor team to turn a theoretical goal into a lasting and very significant engineering achievement. This is a proud day for TRW."

Engineers from TRW, the Army and the IMoD conducted the multiple rocket tests under test conditions similar to those used during the June 6 (DE-Day) test, when THEL/ACTD successfully intercepted and destroyed a Katyusha rocket on its first attempt.

The major difference, of course, was that in these tests, the laser system detected, tracked, and destroyed two rockets in quick succession. The TRW/US Army/IMoD THEL team will use the multiple rocket test data to evaluate the system's performance relative to its mission requirements.

The THEL/ACTD was designed, developed and produced by a TRW-led team of U.S. and Israeli contractors for the U.S. Army Space & Missile Defense Command, Huntsville, Ala. and the Israel Ministry of Defence. Requirements for the system have been driven by Israel, which needs to protect civilians living in towns and communities along its northern border against rocket attacks.

SPACEWAR

Air Force Lab Evaluating Satellites Vulnerability To Lasers

Kirtland AFB - July 12, 2000
One by one, the world's orbiting satellites are being evaluated for their vulnerability to lasers. Driven by a new Defense Department directive, the work is being done by the Satellite Assessment Center of the Air Force Research Laboratory's Directed Energy Directorate here.

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