I heard that spinning the missile renders laser defense useless. I have not seen spinning the missile mentioned in this article, perhaps by intent of the author.
> Could platforms defend themselves? What if the warhead or missile was spinning, etc.? All those questions were answered. The only real barrier at the time was generating very high laser power levels in a way that was logistically practical in the field.
"When we were developing this technology in earnest for missile defense 15 years ago, there were many theories about how it could be defeated. People thought that mirrored surfaces might just reflect the beam. It turned out that reflective surfaces are actually more vulnerable. Would the range be far enough? Maybe the atmosphere would scatter the beam too much? Could platforms defend themselves? What if the warhead or missile was spinning, etc.? All those questions were answered. The only real barrier at the time was generating very high laser power levels in a way that was logistically practical in the field."
