US Navy shows off first of a kind laser weapon by destroying drones over the Pacific

By Matthew Griffin Security and Privacy 26th May 2020

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

New weapons of war are emerging, from autonomous robotic weapons systems to hypersonic weapons systems, so the military needs a new way to defeat them all.

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Laser weapons like the ones in the movies used to be science fiction, until China created a laser rifle and the US and Russia both demonstrated their own laser weapons systems by, well, destroying stuff. Now in another test of these new fangled laser systems the US Navy has just shared footage of a destroyer using a laser weapon to take out flying drones in the Pacific Ocean.

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The navy revealed the USS Portland (LPD-27) used its Technology Maturation Laser Weapon System Demonstrator (LWSD) against an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) last week, and the trial was the first time a high-energy class solid-state laser has been demonstrated outside of the lab.

#USSPortland (LPD 27) conducts Laser Weapon System Demonstrator Test in Pacific: https://t.co/zZJglgDIcf @USNavy @USNavyResearch #NavyLethality pic.twitter.com/K8xtcEWiRz

— U.S. Pacific Fleet (@USPacificFleet) May 22, 2020

“By conducting advanced at sea tests against UAVs and small crafts, we will gain valuable information on the capabilities of the Solid State Laser Weapons System Demonstrator against potential threats,” US Navy Capt. Karrey Sanders, the ship’s commanding officer, said in a statement.

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The Navy also unsurprisingly revealed that its ships have been facing an increasing number of threats “including UAVs, armed small boats, and new adversary intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems.” While they’ve been developing laser weapons since the 1960’s it’s only recently that those systems have become viable as the battery and energy systems needed to power these energy guzzling weapons have improved in performance and energy density.

DEWs include lasers and are defined as “electromagnetic systems capable of converting chemical or electrical energy to radiated energy in order to degrade, neutralize, defeat, or destroy an adversarial target.”

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“The Solid State Laser Weapons System Demonstrator is a unique capability the Portland gets to test and operate for the Navy while paving the way for future weapons systems, “ said Sanders. “With this new advanced capability, we are redefining war at sea for the Navy” – something that is sorely needed as US adversaries continue to accelerate the development and deployment of a range of next generation weapons systems including hypersonic weapons that are incredibly difficult to neutralise.

Recently the US Navy had to deal with drones and even long-range missiles being fielded by rivals like China in the South China Sea so the navy’s development of these new kinds of systems is becoming more urgent than ever before and they’re accelerating their efforts.

Matthew Griffin / About Author

Described by NASA as a "Walking Encyclopaedia of the Future" and one of the world’s most in demand keynote speakers Matthew Griffin, Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm, is a multi-award winning Futurist and strategic foresight expert, author, lecturer, mentor, podcast and YouTube host.

With a distinguished career running global business units at Atos, EMC, and IBM today Matthew helps leaders and titans of industry from all over the world explore the impact of the inter sections of technology, culture, and leadership, then helps them create high performance organisations that can continuously disrupt, outpace, and outthink their competition.

15 times author of the hit series the Codex of the Future series Matthew's ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends on global business, culture, and society has earned him a powerful reputation and a roster of clients that include royal households, world leaders across the G7, G20, and G77, and many of the world's most recognised and exceptional organisations including ABB, Accenture, ABN Amro, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi Group, Coca Cola, Deloitte, Dentons, Disney, Dow, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Microsoft, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Nokia, Paramount, PepsiCo, PWC, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, T-Mobile, UBS, Visa, WIRED, WPP and hundreds of others.

Matthew is regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, and his mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.