US Laser Destroyer

ever since the 1960s the u.s navy has been developing a wide array of impressive laser weapons in may 2020 the uss portland showed off one of the most powerful yet the technology maturation laser weapon system demonstrator successfully shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle with its laser weapon during a series of tests at pearl harbor exponentially cheaper than projectile weapons it could even be used to destroy other ships the scalable power of these laser weapons systems remains a deeply classified secret [Music] laws [Music] in 2012 california company kratos defense and security solutions was awarded an 11 million dollar contract to develop the an seq-3 laser weapon system also known as laws as part of the navy's directed energy and electric weapons systems program a regular projectile weapon typically needs to be designed manufactured transported and maintained in contrast some laser weapons cost as little as 69 cents per shot this cost effectiveness has garnered a lot of attention among global military forces over the last decade [Music] kratos large ship defense system uses an infrared beam from a solid state laser array it's particularly effective against unexpected low end threats the laser's potency is highly adjustable it can be shot with an output of up to 30 thousand watts to hinder or potentially destroy the target it can also be used with a low wattage output to warn potential crews by harmlessly pointing to their eyes or to burn the target's sensors when facing a small boat the laser could target its engine to disable it and render it inoperable against a large helicopter malaysia could burn through the engines and take it down [Music] uss ponce [Music] the weapon was first tested in 2014 on the uss ponce an austin-class amphibious transport deck the goal was to conduct field testing during a 12-month trial deployment in the persian gulf with the u.s fifth fleet the deployment's objective was to test the laser weapons feasibility in a maritime environment against arduous weather conditions it would also test the amount of power required against various potential threats the laws is relatively easy to use it's operated through a flat screen monitor with a gaming-like controller integrated into the ship's systems during testing the ship's defense system engaged an unmanned aerial vehicle and a simulated small boat attacker although it is known that the laws have scalable power levels its exact range is classified the testing phase was successful officials said it worked beyond their expectations and sailors called it the maritime equivalent of the hubble telescope in september 2014 the loss was officially declared an operational asset a ship commander now had permission to use it in self-defense however laser weapons cannot target humans under strict stipulations of the convention on certain conventional weapons which prohibits the use of weapons considered excessively injurious targets such as drones helicopters and patrol craft are allowed uss portland the uss ponce was decommissioned in 2018 so the u.s navy needed another ship to continue testing its laser weapons systems after a thorough review to determine which ship had the best available space power and cooling capabilities the uss portland transport dock ship was selected [Music] in 2018 an improved next generation iteration of the laser weapons system was installed onto the uss portland simultaneously votes for grumman engineers began testing their own version of a laser defense system the technology maturation laser weapon system demonstrator this 150 kilowatt laser weapon was tested at the north facilities in california before being sent to the uss portland in 2020 on may 16 2020 the uss portman fired the high-powered laser weapon and a drone while performing a series of tests off of pearl harbor in hawaii the video shows how the portland crew successfully destroyed the unmanned aerial vehicle with the laser system according to captain carrie sanders the commanding officer of the uss portland wrote by conducting advanced at-sea tests against uavs and small crafts we will gain valuable information on the capabilities of the solid state laser weapon system demonstrator against potential threats in the immediate future the laser weapons system will continue to be tested and upgraded to act as a short-range defense system against drones and boats while being significantly cheaper than gun based setups laser beams can also be disrupted by circumstances as simple as dire weather conditions and are restricted to line of sight firing to keep the beam on target laser systems are built to supplement other sorts of missile and gun based self-defense systems rather than replacing them so far they've proved to be an excellent addition to amphibious transport dock ships [Music] you

Channel: Dark Footage

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Id: Kuf7wHS98BA

Length: 5min 37sec (337 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 30 2021