US tested a laser weapon in the Persian Gulf
In the waters of the Persian Gulf emerges the first U.S. Navy - in fact, the world's first active laser weapons.
LaWS, an acronym for Laser Weapons System, is not science fiction. This is not an experiment. It is deployed aboard amphibious Ponce, ready to fire on the objects today and every day, driven by captain Christopher wells and his team.
LaWS - a weapon that can not be compared with any other. He moves, by definition, the speed of light. For comparison, it is 50 thousand times the speed of the incoming ICBMs. "It throws a huge number of photons on the incoming object, said Lieutenant Cale Hughes, officer of the system of laser weapons. "We're not worried about the wind, we're not worried about range, we're not worried about anything. We can engage targets at the speed of light".
To test the Ponce crew launched a goal is a drone, a weapon that is increasingly used by Iran, North Korea, China, Russia and other opponents. In one moment the unmanned wing wing lit, warmed to a temperature of thousands of degrees, mortally damaging the aircraft and sending it into the sea.
The attack comes quickly. "He works in the invisible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, so you can't see the beam, the sound does not sound, it is completely silent and incredibly effective at what he does," said Hughes.
The whole system cost $40 million works, is electricity that is derived from its own small generator and has a crew of three. No multimillion-dollar missiles, no ammunition at all.
Today, the laser is primarily intended to disable or destroy aircraft and small boats. "It is designed with the intention to counter air and surface threats," said Hughes. "And for the last 3 years he was able to prove himself as an incredibly effective". However, the Navy is developing a more powerful second generation systems, which will lead to more significant targets in the future: missiles.
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