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Hornet - Hazardous Ordnance Engagement Toolkit

The September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States have raised the issue of systems to support homeland defense. Just as lasers have been evaluated for the defense of high-value ships at sea, the HEL could be a strong candidate for defense of commercial passenger aircraft against shoulder-fired man-portable anti-aircraft missiles [MANPADS]. An upgraded MTHEL configuration, called HORNET, was proposed in 2004 as a means of protecting airports against a full range of MANPADs and other precision strike threats. According to the laser's manufacturer, Northrop Grumman, the ground-based laser can successfully defend commercial airliners against shoulder-fired missiles.

Hornet would include a megawatt-class deuterium fluoride laser housed in a turret, netted IR search-and-track (IRST) systems for acquiring and tracking missiles and for pointing the laser, and a radar air picture to designate vectors along which the laser could not fire because friendly air traffic might be in the line of sight. Advertised performance of a single Hornet site claimed a capability to defend against salvos of three missiles out to a range of five kilometers, and single-missile protection to a range of ten kilometers. Protection of a large airport would require a minimum of three sites.

But a senior Department of Homeland Security official said the laser would be "ineffective" against MANPADS threats. The Hornet ground-based system faces numerous obstacles. The system would have to cover up to 400 square miles around an airport, which would require many systems to cover the area. The Hornet would also have difficulty defending airports near water, such as at Boston or San Francisco. And Hornets installed at US airports would provide no protection for American aircraft in foreign airspace. Lasers cannot operate under all weather conditions, and while conditions that render the MTHEL inoperative would usually do the same to MANPADS, but this might not always be true.