If you thought laser weapons were science fiction, think again. At
www.trw.com/thel, there’s the first evidence that they are becoming a reality:
watch the US Tactical High Energy Laser detonate the warhead of a Katyusha
rocket in flight. The rocket nose glows briefly and then explodes—viewed
in three short clips taken from different cameras. The US Army and the Israeli
Ministry of Defense paid weapons contractor TRW $200 million to build the
chemical laser, in which atomic fluorine reacts with the heavy hydrogen isotope
deuterium to generate a powerful infrared beam that can pass through the
atmosphere.
Israel wants…
