Navy Tests Ship-Based Laser
Posted in Technology by Robinson O'Brien-Bours
The United States Office of Naval Research, in conjunction with Northrop Grumman, has
successfully tested a solid-state, high energy laser (HEL) mounted on the deck of Navy ship. Aimed at a small target vessel moving through the turbulent waters of the Pacific Ocean, the laser beam managed to successfully set the target's engines on fire. And the Navy says that the beam can travel over miles, not just yards. This research is a step towards a whole new technological genre of warfare.
Already it is said that the laser beams
would be incredibly successful at warding off the pirates infesting the waters off of the coast of Somalia. With the ability to take away an attacking ship's ability to move, the ability to change the beam from a lethal mode to a nuisance mode, and more precision than bullets, it is expected that these things will
find their way to those troubled waters around the Horn of Africa rather soon. But this new type of weapon will not stop just there; now that we have a successful beam like this, the next steps would be working to make alterations to its size (the current one is about the size of a baseball) and power is next, meaning that the lasers could eventually be used in any type of naval warfare-- not just against small attack craft. They are already working on a laser capable of defending against incoming ballistic missiles; this appears to be a preview of what is to come.
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That's nice. You still need the balls to use it. Our current president does not. When the rightful owners of the technology (the Chinese, who are funding all this) say "No," our current panty-waist-in-chief will say "Okay."
Amen. My thoughts exactly.
I got excited for a minute. I thought the title read, "shark-based laser"...