Posted on 04/11/2011 9:34:36 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
The US Navy has fired a laser gun from one of its ships for the first time.
Researchers used the high-energy laser (HEL) to disable a boat by setting fire to its engines off the coast of California.
Similar systems had previously been tested on land, however moist sea air presented an extra challenge as it reduces a beam's power.
The navy said that ship-borne lasers could eventually be used to protect vessels from small attack boats.
The US military has been experimenting with laser weapons since the 1970s.
Early systems used large, chemical-based lasers which tended to produce dangerous waste gases.
More recently, scientists have developed solid state lasers that combine large numbers of compact beam generators, similar to LEDs.
HELs fire
Laser on board US navy ship The US Navy system uses a Joint High Power Solid State Laser mounted on deck
Until now, much of the development of HELs has focused on shooting down missiles or hitting land-based targets.
The latest round of tests showed its wider possibilities, according to Peter Morrison from the Office of Naval Research.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
The US Navy system uses a Joint High Power Solid State Laser mounted on deck
When this weapon gets deployed someone at FR will have to modify the “They blowed up real good” picture to read “They fried up real good”.
“laser gun” has so much of a “blowed up real good” feel to it anyway.
It’s a laser. A “laser gun” is just silly.
Watch for these on trucks at the next Tea Party rally.
Ha, ha. True. I’m in the biz and people ask me all the time if I “work on laser beams.” Close enough, I guess.
you could prolly put an eye out with that thing
LASER is an acronym for Light-Amplification through Stimulated Emission of Radiation, as I recall. Wouldn’t the addition of a descriptive noun be appropriate, or not? LASER beam or LASER weapon?
Something like this would do nicely
Gives new (OK, old...but different) meaning to being “lit up!”
They’ve been working on these things for decades. When I was in the Navy, many years ago, they said the idea was to make another ship so hot the crew would have to jump ship. That way the Navy could take over the ship. Pipe dream? I don’t know. We wouldn’t be allowed to use it anyway. Not with this admin.
I’ll wait for the submarine version that can fire while submerged.
Damnit! And I thought we had a leak in the engine room! Wait til the US Navy gets my bill on this! And they’ll be paying for all those grunions I didn’t catch because my boat was on fire, too
Why aren’t they practicing on those Somali pirates?
U.S. NAVY PHOTOS - This futuristic-looking piece of equipment is part of a system that successfully tracked, engaged and destroyed an unmanned aircraft in a test-firing simulating oceanic combat using Raytheon's Phalanx system
What's wrong with 50 cal. machine guns and other sorts of deck guns? Lasers should be used against incoming missiles.
can a mirror reverse a laser beam?
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