US Navy bolting LASER WEAPON onto lead warship for futuristic warfare

www.dailystar.co.uk ^ | 12th January 2018 | By Anders Anglesey

[brianr10]

So whre on the ship is the laser?

[Red Badger]

It’s a secret................

[BeauBo]

"So where on the ship is the laser?"

Typically, it is a turret bolted on the foredeck. They can also be mounted on the Superstructure.

We have had one mounted on the USS Ponce in the Gulf for a few years now. They can throttle the power down to just dazzle or blind, or crank it up (to 300KW) to set fires or burn holes in metal. It can be used against craft on the water, or targets in the air or on land - long reach and a bottomless magazine.

I am interested to see what the power is. As the power rises, you can start slapping down aerial targets quickly.

USS Ponce (up on the Superstructure):

[Oztrich Boy]

Announcement of geewhiz vapourware no way related to need to distract from last months Zumwalt failure

[BeauBo]

"So where on the ship is the laser?"

Typically, it is a turret bolted up on the Superstructure. Line of sight, the higher the better - so someday perhaps they will crow's nest-like turrets for 360 degree coverage. In the photo, it is on the turret between the two phased array radars.

We have had one mounted on the USS Ponce in the Gulf for a few years now. They can throttle the power down to just dazzle or blind, or crank it up (to 300KW) to set fires or burn holes in metal. It can be used against craft on the water, or targets in the air or on land - long reach and a bottomless magazine.

I am interested to see what the power is. As the power rises, you can start slapping down aerial targets quickly.

USS Ponce (up on the Superstructure):

[brianr10]

Oh, I thought that was a Phalanx turret.

[BeauBo]

The hope is that they will be able to use the lasers to replace Phalanx eventually, when the power gets high enough.

Inherently faster (speed of light), and a theoretically endless magazine, they are planned as the cure for swarm attacks.