Northrop unveils laser to counter mortar attacks

By Michael Sirak JDW Staff Reporter
Washington, DC

Northrop Grumman has offered the US Army a directed-energy laser weapon - which it says could be available within 18 months of a contract - to counter the mortar threat to US and coalition forces currently operating in Iraq.

The concept, dubbed the High Energy Laser for Rocket, Artillery and Mortar (HELRAM) defence system, has grown out of the company's continuing work on a deuterium-fluoride chemical laser system under the joint US Army-Israeli Ministry of Defence Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser (MTHEL) programme.

Patrick Caruana, Northrop Grumman vice president for Missile and Space Defense, said the HELRAM concept stems from the company's desire to offer a nearer-term means of shooting down mortar rounds in flight as well as rockets and artillery shells before MTHEL is available: an MTHEL prototype is expected by the end of the decade for testing.

"We have already demonstrated at our test site the shootdown capability against medium and heavy mortar [rounds]," he told JDW on 26 October, referring to tests on 24 August during which the THEL testbed shot down seven mortar rounds, including three during a salvo attack. "That gave us a good deal of confidence that what we had was the ability to engage these threats and kill them."

     Sounds like a must have for any permanent U.S. base. Hope it works as advertised.

Heh... what a way to cook pigeons & other assorted birds... Not that some troopies would misuse such a contraption.

On the serious side, this sort of defensive mechanism would be a valuable commodity for force protection and I'm sure the Israelis would love a couple-three.

"The degenerative and loony should never be denigrated but, rather, thanked. In their absence, the rest of you would be obliged to fill congressional seats... positions naturally unsavory to the sane and honorable."

Thorax

Damn!  If that shit really works get it over here fast.

I won't see it but OIF 04-06 might.

I've been mortared here for 10 months now and you could say I'm at bit tired of it, and to be honest used to it by now too.