The Nautilus, a joint American-Israeli weapons system,
performed perfectly during a firing test in New Mexico,
accurately intercepting and destroying mortar shells.
The Nautilus is a laser-guided tactical anti-missile and
projectile system, designed to provide protection from a
variety of battlefield tactical weapons such as artillery and
mortar shells and short range rockets (such as the Katyusha
and the Qassam).
The system has an effective range of about ten kilometers.
This provides protection against a wide range of weapons
systems, but does not include long range artillery and
rockets, which can hit targets over 20 kilometers away.
The system uses a laser beam to down the projectiles and is
based on laser technology (THEL -- Tactical High Energy
Laser), enabling laser beams to pass through clouds and melt
metal projectiles from afar without requiring large launching
platforms unsuitable for battlefields.
The Nautilus is not yet an operational weapons system, and
requires further testing and development before achieving
operational status. However the test was an important
milestone. An operational system could provide a defense
against thousands of rockets that are currently deployed by
Hizbullah in Lebanon.
