BY: Langston Brown
Recentely,
Lockheed Martin has released a video of ADAM, a high energy laser
system, destroying a rocket from 0.9 miles (1.5 km) away. The video
evidently shows the laser beam striking and tracking a point towards
the front of the rocket, before destroying it mid-flight.
ADAM,
which stands for Area Defense Anti-Munitions is a laser weapon system
that is designed to defeat close-in improvised rocket and unmanned
aerial system (UAS) threats. Its purpose is to protect vulnerable
assets such as military bases near the frontline, acquiring and
tracking short-range targets from a distance of 5 km (3.1 miles), and
destroying from a range of up to 2 km (1.2 miles).
Imagine
being cooped up with your unit miles deep into enemy territory beyond
any immediate help, behind some makeshift stone walls and plywood.
Some are sleeping, while others stand watch using night vision to
leach signs of danger from the dark. When the attack comes it starts
with shoulder launched rockets — but rather than just seeing the
flash and yelling for cover, troops
are protected by Area
Defense Anti-Munitions.
In
the test, which took place April 22, an ADAM prototype takes out a
"Qassam-like" rocket. Qassam rockets are artillery
munitions used by the military wing of Hamas in attacks against
Israel.
Lockheed
Martin's video of the prototype test can be seen below.
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