US Navy has revealed that it has successful deployed first Laser Weapon System (LaWS) thanks to Office of Naval Research (ONR). The system was deployed on a US Naval vessel, USS Ponce (LPD-15), in Arabian Gulf from September to November 2014.
“Laser weapons are powerful, affordable and will play a vital role in the future of naval combat operations,” Rear Adm. Matthew L. Klunder, chief of naval research, said in a statement Wednesday. “We ran this particular weapon, a prototype, through some extremely tough paces, and it locked on and destroyed the targets we designated with near-instantaneous lethality.”
The laser has already been tested against a number of targets that included small boats and moving targets at sea. Reportedly, the laser also tracked down a flying Scan Eagle UAV from the sky.
Operated via a “video-game like controller,” the system is designed to go from non-lethal to lethal output to stun or destroy “asymmetrical threats” like small ships and UAVs.
At less than a dollar per shot, the cost-efficient 30-kilowatt weapon is the first of larger 100 and 150-kilowatt weapons to be deployed aboard later ships.
Check out the video below for more details:
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