[extropy-chat] LASER: DARPA's HELLADS small laser weapon makes headway

J. Andrew Rogers andrew at ceruleansystems.com
Fri Sep 2 06:44:34 UTC 2005


On 9/1/05 7:28 PM, "Mike Lorrey" <mlorrey at yahoo.com> wrote:
> --- Dirk Bruere <dirk.bruere at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Well, mortar rounds are already quite trackable by radar so using a
>> HEL to illuminate them seems a bit redundant.
> 
> Hardly. A radar itself can be homed in on with an anti-radiation
> missile or other weapon. A FLIR is passive, and thus a better sensor,
> just as passive sonar is more secure than active sonar.


State-of-the-art active radar systems do not detectably radiate at all,
another very, very slick piece of American military technology.  It is how
stealth attack aircraft like the F-22 can use search radar while still being
invisible in the broad RF spectrum.

Broad spectrum IR imaging is much better for terminal guidance because it
can be made very smart.  Modern guidance packages of this type can determine
the make and model of their target a long way off, and sometimes the country
that owns the hardware.  Which is why modern IR guidance packages are all
but impervious to decoys and spoofing.


> Actually, the THEL has been tested against katyushas. And despite the
> claims of the disparagers, polishing or sawdust and glue doesn't do
> anything to protect against a high energy laser. Its all well and good
> to talk about it, but proving it is another thing.


Many critics fail to understand that at some level of power, a laser is
qualitatively different in its interaction with matter than a milliwatt
laser pointer.  These lasers have proven quite effective against dumb/hard
targets.


J. Andrew Rogers





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