A 500-watt laser called Zeus destroyed 98 per cent of anti-tank and
anti-personnel mines and unexploded mortar shells in only a few minutes, US Army
engineers found in recent field tests. The beam ignites the explosives by
heating the metal casings or burning through their plastic cases. The laser
head, about the size of a car engine, is mounted on top of an armoured military
vehicle. An operator fires the laser from a distance of 25 to 300 metres.
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