The Pentagon has plans to deploy its first ever ship-mounted laser next year, a disruptive, cutting-edge weapon capable of obliterating small boats and unmanned aerial vehicles with a blast of infrared energy. Navy officials announced Monday that in early 2014, a solid-state laser prototype will be mounted to the fantail of the USS Ponce and…
The U.S. military’s research program on laser weapons continues to make strides in demonstrating the potential of directed energy to defend against missiles, artillery shells, and other explosives at the speed of light. Laser weapons have been used in test firings from the ground to successfully shoot down unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and to destroy…
Raytheon revealed its next-gen directed energy weapon at the Farnborough Air Show, releasing video showing its Laser Weapons System (LaWS) — a six-laser weapon that focuses on a single target — engaging and then destroying an unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) from the deck of a Navy vessel at sea. The tests conducted show the LaWS…
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