Phalanx + Off the Shelf weapons laser = Raytheon's quick thinking

Phalanx Fitted With Laser

When tactical missiles are fired at close range the best U.S. weapon to shoot them down may be a good old-fashioned machine gun. Except there is nothing old-fashioned about Raytheon's Mark 15 Phalanx Close-In Weapons System, or CIWS. An article published Friday by Defense Industry Daily spells out the formidable capabilities of the Phalanx CIWS and explains why it is already the BMD weapon of last resort of the U.S. Navy and why so many other countries are interested in having it too. Interest in the Phalanx CIWS has spiked in recent months following the massive Katyusha rocket mortar bombardment of northern Israel by Hezbollah in their brief conflict this summer. The Katyusha attacks followed an escalating series of less intense and formidable, but still potentially dangerous, attacks against Israel by relatively low-tech, very short-range Qassem missiles fired by Hamas and its allies from with in Gaza, which Israeli forces evacuated in summer 2005.

Both sets of attacks led to a revival of interest by U.S. congressional appropriators as well as by Israel in the development of laser weapon defenses against very short-range missile attacks.

The Phalanx, however, has several striking advantages over laser BMD systems against short-range missiles.

First, it is already operational and being produced and deployed in relatively large numbers.

Second, it is the outgrowth of an already-mature technology, super-powerful, ultra-high speed machine guns have been a key element of the U.S. armed forces for decades. The awesome Gatling gun was used to devastating operational effect in Vietnam.

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