EveryDay Info

When U.S. and allied forces are attacked by rockets, artillery or mortars, they have limited ways of defending themselves . They can reply with serious gunfire, but they might accidentally hit friendly troops in the procedure . They can try to take cover, but they have only few moments to dodge the short-range projectiles.

Is there a better option ?

The U.S. Army and a Boeing-led industry team are developing a capability that could change the warfield , and save lives. Called the High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator (HEL TD), the system will contain a laser weapon system placed on a army truck or a 17 Seater Minibus or LPG Vans

Traveling about at the speed of light — 186,000 miles per second — the laser beam will punch targets with exceptional  speed . And no bullets will rain down on anyone in the process.

“This transformational, ultra-precision capability will radically  improve warfighters’ ability to respond rocket, artillery and mortar projectiles,” said Michael Rinn, vice president of Boeing Directed Energy Systems.

Under agreement to the Army, Boeing last year completed the blue print of a laser beam control system (BCS) on a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT), a extensively used military automobile built by Oshkosh Defense in Oshkosh, Wis. Boeing publize earlier this year that it has acknowledged the eight -wheel, 500-horsepower truck from Oshkosh and has started manufacturing the ruggedized BCS. The truck will be shipped to Boeing’s facility in Huntsville, Ala., this summer for integration with the BCS.

“HEL TD, which was only a dream on a page 3 years ago, traveled a quick but smooth transition to the design phase and now the fabrication of real hardware,” said Blaine Beardsley, Boeing HEL TD program manager. “The Army, Boeing and our subcontractors have paid close attention to every detail , and as a result, we are meeting or exceeding all requirements.”

A main “subassembly” of the BCS is the beam director , a dome-shaped turret that will pull out above the roof of the vehicle when it takes on targets. The beam director , which can turn around 360 degrees, will be equipped with a set of mirrors that point and focus the beam. Other BCS subassemblies will focus the laser beam and transfer it from the laser to the beam director. The BCS also will find and track enemies .

HEL TD testing against real targets, but using a low-power “surrogate ” for the high-energy laser, is planed for fiscal year 2011 at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. These trials will exhibit the capacity to target and engage moving projectiles with the HEL TD system. The truck will then be prepared with a high-energy laser that can demolish those targets.

“These handwork could pave the way for further growth of the technology — and ultimately use on the battlefield,” said Bill Gnacek, the Army’s HEL TD program manager. “Our main goal is to transition this HEL TD technology into a formal acquisition program and ultimately place it in the hands of Army commanders, providing them an efficient , lethal ability to answer rocket, artillery and mortar projectiles.”

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