The Arizona Daily Star January 25, 2007
Lasers go to war
Raytheon, working without a government contract, is developing a beam to destroy mortars, small missiles
By David Wichner
Looking to push ahead in the scramble to develop laser weapons, Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems is developing a system to shoot down mortars and small missiles with bursts of laser light.
And Raytheon is doing so without a definite customer, after losing a bid for a Defense Department contract.
Earlier this month, Raytheon said it successfully tested a prototype solid-state laser adapted to an existing, Raytheon-made ship-defense system.
The Laser Area Defense System, or LADS, detonated stationary 60 mm mortars at a range of more than 550 yards in recent ground testing, the company said.
The test was significant because it proved that solid-state lasers — used in applications such as CD players, bar-code scanners and laser printers — can be made powerful enough for use in weapons, said Mike Booen, vice president of advanced missile defense and directed-energy weapons at Raytheon Missile Systems.
"This could possibly be the first weapon system that uses a solid-state laser," Booen said.
The Pentagon has been working for three decades to develop laser weapons, and for over a decade to develop solid-state lasers powerful enough to use as weapons. Raytheon has been involved in solid-state laser-weapon research, along with other directed-energy technologies, for years.
But in December 2005, rival Northrop Grumman Corp. was awarded the $56.7 million prime contract for the Pentagon's major solid-state laser weapon push, the Joint High Power Solid-State Laser program.
The initial goal is to develop a solid-state laser weapon capable of generating 100,000 watts, or 100 kilowatts.
Raytheon system developed in six months
With some government collaboration but no contract in hand, Raytheon developed the LADS on its own dime in six months, using "an existing, off-the-shelf solid-state laser, coupled with commercially available optics technology," the company said.
The laser was mounted on the carriage of a Phalanx Close-In Weapon System, a ship-defense system designed to automatically track incoming missiles with radar and infrared technology and destroy them with a hail of 20-millimeter bullets from a Gatling-type gun.
Booen declined to be more specific about the optical technologies used or the wattage the LADS achieves. He also declined to say which military agency or agencies have collaborated on the project or are likely customers.
But he said Raytheon is serious about providing U.S. fighters with protection from mortars, artillery and rockets sooner rather than later.
"We didn't do this to sell a laser — we did this to protect troops from mortars over in Iraq," Booen said.
The next step, Booen said, is to test the laser system against mortar rounds in flight.
"We already know our Phalanx system can see something the size of a mortar and track it," he added.
A military analyst said Raytheon's effort with LADS is significant.
LADS could compete with "C-RAM" — Counter Rocket, Artillery Mortar — systems designed to track and destroy incoming projectiles with explosive bullets, said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org.
"The problem is, when the bullets go up, they tend to come down," possibly endangering troops or civilians, Pike said.
Competition intense
However, laser weapon systems have limitations, Pike said, noting that dust and fog can disperse laser beams, particularly at longer ranges. Raytheon also faces stiff competition for the Pentagon's laser-weapon dollars, he added.
"Everyone and their cousins have one of these programs now," he said.
A financial analyst who follows Raytheon said laser weaponry appears to be getting closer to combat.
"There are many potential applications, and I think you're going to see more and more use of lasers," said Paul Nisbet of JSA Research Inc. of Newport, R.I.
Nisbet said the U.S. Navy — one of Raytheon's biggest customers — is interested in laser weapons for its new line of DD(X) destroyers, which use huge electric motors that could power solid-state lasers.
"I'm sure they're talking to the Navy a lot, and the Navy is probably interested," Nisbet said. "They just need some seed money to get it started."
Meanwhile, Northrop announced earlier this month that it has opened "the first U.S. production facility for high-energy laser weapons" in Redondo Beach, Calif. Northrop said it aims to build and demonstrate a 100-kilowatt solid-state laser by the end of 2008.
Though Raytheon is not involved with laser work under Northrop's contract, "Raytheon has a number of contracts associated with solid-state, high-powered laser technology development," Raytheon spokesman Alan Fischer said.
Pike said it doesn't matter that Raytheon doesn't have a contract in hand, noting that the Army moved swiftly to fund devices that can jam electronic signals used to set off roadside bombs.
"If someone has a solution to a problem, the Army will give you lots of small, unmarked bills on the spot," he said.
© Copyright 2007, The Arizona Daily Star
