Holy Buck Rogers, Batman!

[g5000]

Amphibious Ship Obliterates Drone with Laser Weapon in 1st-of-its-Kind Sea Test

The Portland was equipped with the Solid State Laser Weapons System Demonstrator for the at-sea test.

www.military.com

A Navy ship recently turned its laser weapon system to the skies to take out a drone flying nearby as the service looks to counter aerial threats at sea.

The amphibious transport dock ship Portland "successfully disabled an unmanned aerial vehicle" while it was in flight during a May 16 test at sea, the Navy announced in a news release. Video footage of the test appears to show the drone on fire before it suddenly disappears.



Check out the link. There is an 8-second video of the ship firing the laser, and a 9-second video of the drone bursting into flames.

150 kilowatts. Cool.

 

[g5000]

I wonder what would happen if you pointed one of those things at an Iranian gunboat...

"Ali! Your turban is on fi-" *KA-BOOM!*

 

[westwall]

Amphibious Ship Obliterates Drone with Laser Weapon in 1st-of-its-Kind Sea Test

The Portland was equipped with the Solid State Laser Weapons System Demonstrator for the at-sea test.

www.military.com

A Navy ship recently turned its laser weapon system to the skies to take out a drone flying nearby as the service looks to counter aerial threats at sea.

The amphibious transport dock ship Portland "successfully disabled an unmanned aerial vehicle" while it was in flight during a May 16 test at sea, the Navy announced in a news release. Video footage of the test appears to show the drone on fire before it suddenly disappears.



Check out the link. There is an 8-second video of the ship firing the laser, and a 9-second video of the drone bursting into flames.

150 kilowatts. Cool.

It needs to be about 20 times more powerful to become truly useful, but a fivefold increase in power over a few years is good progress.