Cool. Very Very Cool.

I'm one of those folks that believe that effective missile defense systems will ultimately be created and deployed by the US. I think those systems will keep us safe, will keep countries like North Korea (who seem so bent on developing systems that could reach the US) from attacking us with long-range nuclear weapons, and are the natural evolution of defensive weapons systems.

And aside from that, I think it's cool. I admit it: laser cannons are freakin' cool.

The Nautilus uses a high power radar to track and lock onto the incoming projectile. Then a Mid-Infrared Advanced Chemical Laser (MIRACL), which looks like a large spotlight, shoots out an intense beam that destroys the rocket.

The White Sands test marked the first time that a rocket has been destroyed in flight by a laser beam. The laser has also proved its ability to shoot down artillery shells.

Israeli security officials said that the potential to use this technology in the war against terrorism was a major factor in convincing Congress to renew support for the project.

I remember reading about the successful artillery shell shoot down recently, and thinking how amazing that was. In fact, the ability to shoot down an artillery shell in mid-flight seems even more amazing to me than shooting down a missile.

It amazes me to think that some of these things are near-future technologies, not something that will happen 100 years from now.

Read the story.

Posted by zombyboy at October 29, 2003 12:10 PM | TrackBack