The US navy has Phalanx. It is unmaned fully automatic close in weapons system that was proven on the somoli pirates. the radar tracks target, bullet and brings the two together. 20 mm trust me, it will ruin your day.
I’ve seen lots of videos of Phalanx in action. “Ruin your day” — LOL. Understatement of the day.
Maybe this practice was to give the sailors some old-fashioned shoot-’em-up practice just in case Phalanx is broken.
I didn’t know that Phalanx radar also tracks the bullet, not just the target. That’s amazing. Makes perfect sense.
This will also raise the price of oil.
So you're saying this is the Navy Version of the Air Force Warthog "Laughs in BRRRRRRRRT" ?
Plywood gives a poor radar return. And there is no one in the pod to act as a backup when the target is a fuzzy blob on the screen, even if the targeting computer is working correctly, and an electrical connection hasn't been jarred loose by an RPG impact. Is there even such a thing as a visual target director, any more? Not for a Mach 4 incoming vampire, but a jihadi in a CrisCraft?
It would be sorta nice to have a FLIR system, hooked to a screen, and some gunner that can override the targeting to take out close in surface traffic. It might be worthy of a news story to watch a US Navy ship in harbor, and the CWIS pods are tracking passing pleasure craft... Just for practice...
After Pearl Harbor, it was apparent that the US Navy had blown off damage control as a vital training drill. With modern systems, does a captain unplug a vital component, and THEN have a Damage Control drill?