[CapitalistCartr]

The rocket is moving at perhaps mach 4+. The laser has to strike a singular spot. So holding focus for multuple seconds is an as-yet-unsolved problem. Of course, hitting an incoming missile at all is at the edge of current capability.

[adolph]

I was interested in validating or invalidating the mach 4 number. I guess it depends on the specific rocket, but the 122 mm M-21OF-M Rocket, sometimes referred to as Katyusha (although that was the name of a specific launcher, not the rocket [0]) is 660 m/s or about mach 2 [1].

0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katyusha_rocket_launcher

1. https://kintex.bg/product-4-77

[CapitalistCartr]

That's a good example of the problem. That's about 660 meters per second. Instead of "multiple seconds", the laser has about 1/100 second to penetrate the skin. Of a missile that's shaking, twisting, rocking.

[lr1970]

Most likely, a missile will be rotating about its axis of symmetry making illuminating a single spot possible only in a short pulse mode.