| Tango01 | 10 Dec 2014 10:19 p.m. PST |
…Weapon in the Persian Gulf. "Service says ray gun can handle multiple threats at 59 cents a shot For decades, the Pentagon has been saying that laser weapons are just around the corner. Thursday, the U.S. military finally turned that corner. The Navy announced that it had deployed and fired a laser weapon this fall aboard a warship in the Persian Gulf. During a series of test shots, the laser hit and destroyed targets mounted atop a small boat, blasted a six-foot drone from the sky, and destroyed other moving targets…" Full article here
link Amicalement
Armand |
| Deadone | 10 Dec 2014 10:27 p.m. PST |
How effective is this in say fog/mist or rougher sea conditions or against more maneouvrable opponents or indeed a combo of all three? |
| Whatisitgood4atwork | 10 Dec 2014 10:53 p.m. PST |
They really called a ship 'The Ponce'? |
| cwlinsj | 10 Dec 2014 11:02 p.m. PST |
Didn't the USAF already successfully hit test missiles from an airborne platform back in 2007? |
| 15mm and 28mm Fanatik | 10 Dec 2014 11:24 p.m. PST |
The laser weapon system (LaWS) on the USS Ponce is still in the initial testing phase. The first time it was field tested was in April 2013 when it shot down a couple of drones. It took 10 seconds for the laser to burn through a drone's fuselage. The laser isn't powerful enough to shoot down fighters or surface ships larger than small attack boats. In the test firings they used the Phalanx radar to guide the laser to target at ranges up to around 2.5 miles. |
| Only Warlock | 11 Dec 2014 10:34 a.m. PST |
There is no maneuverable opponent for this baby. If it sees it it can laser it. Also it's good in any weather except heavy rain. |
| cwlinsj | 11 Dec 2014 12:08 p.m. PST |
U.S. Central Command has given the Ponce's skipper approval to use the laser for self-defense, if needed. This system is live? -Cool! It has proven effective at ranges of up to about a mile. After disabling one target, a laser can be redirected in several seconds to another target. …Oh! So it isn't able to engage a missile-swarm attack at all. Several seconds to engage each missile within a mile, especially when manually directed from an "X-box like" controller? Just a show for the Iranians and their gunboats. Russia and China don't need to worry yet. |
| Lion in the Stars | 11 Dec 2014 5:21 p.m. PST |
Well, you need a beastly-powerful laser to swat a Soviet/Russian/Chinese scale missile swarm. On the order of 100 megawatts, not the ~100kilowatts this laser is. Yeah, a THOUSAND TIMES more powerful. The only advantage of this wimpy system is that it gives you some 'warning shot' capability due to the dwell time. |
| Coelacanth1938 | 11 Dec 2014 10:48 p.m. PST |
But what can it do to a frozen burrito? |
| Lion in the Stars | 12 Dec 2014 11:53 a.m. PST |
But what can it do to a frozen burrito? Maybe you had frozen burritos in the Army or USAF, but the Navy makes them fresh. Especially if you have a Hispanic chief cook, who brought on a tortilla press! This laser could probably cook said frozen burrito on the Pirate's ship at a range of a mile in less than 30 seconds. |
| Zargon | 12 Dec 2014 6:50 p.m. PST |
Stand still you naughty Pirate I want to blast you with my trusty ray gun. Yeah! seeing the wisdom of deploying half-baked tech all the time :+)
Cheers |
gets roads for his Team Yankee set-up.
