US Navy testing new drone killing laser weapon in Gulf
America is testing a new laser weapon in the Gulf which could be used against drones and small attack boats
USS Ponce AFSB(I)-15 transits in the Arabian Gulf with the newly installed Laser Weapon System (LaWS) Photo: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel M. Young
The United States’ navy has begun testing a new laser weapon in the Gulf, to shoot down drones or burn up small attacking speed boats.America is testing a new laser weapon in the Gulf which could be used against drones and small attack boats
USS Ponce AFSB(I)-15 transits in the Arabian Gulf with the newly installed Laser Weapon System (LaWS) Photo: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel M. Young
The high-energy weapon has been fitted to a US navy vessel based in the strategically important waterway for its first ever operational trials.
US naval commanders believe the prototype weapon will be ideal for shooting down remotely-controlled drones, or repelling small attack craft that could be used by terrorists, pirates or Iran.
Early tests have seen the £25 million ($40 million) weapon ignite remote-controlled drone targets in mid air and send them crashing to the ground in flames.
A spokesman for the US Fifth Fleet said the Laser Weapon System (LaWS) had been tested several times since it was fitted to USS Ponce in late August and “those tests have gone fairly well”.
Cdr Kevin Stephens said: “This is the first operational testing in an operational environment. It’s performed as expected generally speaking.”
Six lasers converge in the LaWS to create a destructive beam with a range of 10 miles. The weapon is likely to be tested for around 12 months on the USS Ponce, which is based in Bahrain.
Cdr Stephens said the LaWS was “ideal for small boats and unmanned aerial vehicles”.
America has increased its naval presence in the Gulf in recent years because of threats to shipping and oil supplies. The Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf carries nearly a third of all waterborne oil shipments, amounting to between 15 and 17 million barrels daily and is a vulnerable choke point for the world’s supplies.
Iran has occasionally threatened to close the Strait and has practised sending swarms of fast attack craft against larger warships. Speedboats laden with explosives such as the craft that struck USS Cole in Aden in 2000 are also a potent terrorist threat against shipping in the region.
Iran also has an extensive domestic drone programme, but Cdr Stephens said the laser was being tested in the region not because of Iran, but because the Gulf was one of the busiest and toughest areas where the US Navy operated.
US Navy testing new drone killing laser weapon in Gulf - Telegraph
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