Navy to deploy laser defense
The Washington Times reports that the Navy will deploy a laser system to use against drones and other small aircraft later this year;
The Laser Weapon System (LaWS), which will be used to protect vessels from drones and other small aircraft, will be deployed this summer with the USS Ponce, the technology website Ars Technica reported. LaWS accomplishes its task by causing a drone’s sensors to malfunction or, with enough energy, bursting it into flames.
“The effects are scalable,” Navy Capt. Mike Ziv, the Naval Sea Systems Command’s program manager for directed energy and electric weapons, told Armed With Science, a Department of Defense blog. “In some cases [the weapon’s effects are] reversible, and in some cases it can be used for destruction.”
I remember 40 years ago when they envisioned the use of lasers against aircraft, and now we’ve advanced to the point of shooting down small aircraft. The USS Ponce was last deployed as part of the Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf and it’s currently being fitted as a staging base for counter-mine operations. So I guess the main target would be Iranian drones – not a big threat, I would imagine.
Category: Military issues
A number of us have advocated that the Navy start new construction of a cruiser design based upon the Ticonderoga hull. Scale it up a bit, and make it nuclear-powered. Evolution, not revolution, is the key to effective ship construction and naval power. Build off proven designs, adding new tech where appropriate.
The reason we advocated for nuclear power is because of the power requirements that these lasers, and the follow-on rail guns will require.
We’re talking massive amounts of energy, not just for the weapon, but for cryogenic cooling systems for rail guns too.
We can do these things, but it will take the courage to scrap the LCS and DDG-1000, both of which are white elephants and, come wartime, be easily located by their flaming wreckage slowly disappearing beneath the waves.
Of course, the drawback to laser weapons is that they don’t work as well in smoke, mist, fog, etc. That means having backup kinetic energy weapons like current guns, missiles or, in future, rail guns.
Chinese have a purpose for their notorious smog problem…defense shield against laser guided weapons.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2568291/Its-not-smog-laser-defence-shield-Chinese-navys-Rear-Admiral-says-nations-terrible-air-pollution-protect-Americas-Star-Wars-weaponry.html
You know, I have one simple request. And that is to have sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads!
EEEVIL sharks with EEEVIL lasers, I assume?
Why in the world would we (US) advertise where we deploy anything anywhere? This is just insane and endangers our service folks and materials.
Shoop da Whoop??