The U.S. Army is having a dispute over whether
it should send its experimental laser anti-projectile system to Iraq, for some
real-life action. The manufacturer, Northrop Grumman, wants the army to use the
THEL (Tactical High Energy Laser) in a combat situation, to follow up on the
recent successful tests of the system (where it knocked down barrages of
incoming mortar shells.) Israel is a partner in development of THEL, which is
not due to enter service until 2007. It?s the laser that still needs work. But
the THEL radar is already in good shape. Last year, Israel used the THEL radar
to detect incoming Palestinian rockets fired from Gaza, and this provided an
opportunity to operate the radar under combat conditions. The THEL system was
designed to knock down larger, and better made, rockets than the home made
Palestinian ?Kassam? rockets. It could track the smaller Kassams, and may be
able to knock them down with the laser. Meanwhile, American tests have shown
that smaller targets, like mortar shells can be tracked and destroyed in
flight.
The laser and radar system can track up to sixty targets (mortar
and artillery shells, rockets) at a time and fire on and destroy these
projectiles at a range of up to five kilometers. THEL can destroy about a dozen
targets a minute, at a cost of some $3,000 per ?shot.? It?s taken eight years,
and over a half a billion dollars, for American and Israeli engineers to get
that far.
Aside from the system?s size and cost, there?s also the
problem of lasers being weakened by clouds, fog, mist or even artificial smoke.
For that reason, there?s not a lot of enthusiasm for proceeding right now on
such a bulky and expensive system. But by the end of the decade, the smaller,
and cheaper, version will be more attractive, and likely to be
purchased.
Currently, THEL is a bulky system, and not really mobile. Each
system requires half a dozen or more large tractor trailer trucks to carry the
radar, fuel supplies and laser. A new version of the MTHEL (Mobile Tactical
High-Energy Laser) has been designed (using three tractor-traliers) and is being
readied for testing. Engineers believe that MTHEL could be ready for battlefield
use in about six years, at a cost of another billion dollars. In another few
years, engineers believe they could create a MTHEL that could fit in a
hummer.
In Iraq, however, there are several large American bases that
are periodically being hit by inaccurate, but often damaging, mortar and rocket
fire. THEL could be set up at one of these bases and demonstrate what it can, or
cannot do. That may be why the army is not eager to send over a system it does
not consider ready for prime time.
