The first time that a laser weapon has successfully shot-down an operational rocket occurred when the US Army and the Israeli Ministry of Defence destoyed a Katyusha rocket carrying a live warhead, using the High Energy Laser/Advance Concept Technology Demonstrator (THEL/ACTD) – the world’s first high energy laser weapon system designed for such operational use – at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, USA on 7 June 2000.