The US Navy has demoed another weapon to add to its devastating arsenal, a high-tech drone shooting laser that will attack and damage any drone or vehicle with pinpoint accuracy.
A US ship in the Persian Gulf deployed the active laser weapon to test how will it work in actual conditions as a ship-based naval weapon.
It is a weapon called LaWs or Laser Weapon Systems that is part of the US Navy modernization. Not just a naval project, but a weapon ready under testing and tweaking for maximum effect, mounted on the USS Ponce amphibious transport ship.
The ship-based LaWS is ready to be used now, and for any future engage, the Ponce and its crew as reported by CNN.
LaWS weapon are projectile less weapons against aerial or ground targets.
Captain of the USS Ponce called the new naval weapon better than any solid projectile, advanced lasers are a notch over specific weapons that are best against specific targets only. For example, a laser that can hit a flying object or ground target will give anything mounting the weapon system a versatile attack system.
America's adversaries will be at a loss against a high-grade laser-like Star Wars weapon that attacks faster and at the speed of light, much faster than any ICBM or hypersonic weapons touted by the PLA. Giving all adversaries a fast counter strike to missile threats.
Most militaries are trying to develop laser weapons, but the US may have given them a right hook by fielding the first truly functional laser weaponry on the planet.
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Projectile weapons need delivery systems and fuel to propel them. According to Lt. Cale Hughes, lasers are photonic light that bath incoming target, and lasers are a not affected. Any range or physical factor is nothing to a beam of high energy light. Also, targets will be hard-pressed to evade any weapon that travels at the light speed.
The USS Ponce and her crew used a drone aircraft, used by China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and other forces facing the US today. LaWS gives America a way to lessen threats posed by them since they can just point and shoot to destroy the target.
During the LaWS demo, the drone was shot and its wing got burned which knocked it from the sky. The laser struck without warning and attacks stealthily compared to other weapons, noted Officer Hughes. It is a precise assault weapon and best at lessening collateral casualties in attacks.
The cost of the laser weapon is $40 million, with an electrical supply from the generator of the system, a three-man crew. It costs less than a high-tech missile and is a dollar per use non-projectile weapon.
Currently, deployment of the laser weapon is for used against aircraft and small boats which are utilized for aerial and surface targets, it has proven itself reliable over the three years of testing and effective too.
Soon to come is the second-gen upgrade that will be shooting down missiles, as the next objective. So far, the USS Ponce is still classified (its mission status) and potential for shooting down missiles is under wraps.
This naval Star Wars weapons utilize a high-tech drone busting laser, which is now in operation not just in development should warn adversaries that America means business.
