By Nathan Hodge
For years, the U.S. Navy has been pursuing a workable ray gun that
could provide a leap ahead in ship self-defenses. Now, with a series of
tests of a system called the Laser Weapon System, or LaWS),
it may be one step closer to that goal.
[wired.com] Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), the service’s technology
development arm, announced today that LaWS had “successfully tracked,
engaged, and destroyed” a drone in flight, during an over-the-water
engagement at San Nicholas Island, Calif.
It’s certainly not the first time lasers have shot down an unmanned
aerial vehicle — last year, the Air
Force zapped several drones with beam weapons in a series of tests
at China Lake, Calif. — but this test brings an additional bit of
realism — and an extra technical challenge. Laser beams can lose
strength as they move through the moist, salty sea atmosphere above the
sea, so the Navy needs
directed-energy weapons that can work effectively on ships. (more on wired.com)
