In an experiment that simulates Star Wars, the US Navy shoots down a plane with a laser beam for the first time
The US Navy has announced that it has successfully tested a drone using an all-electric laser for the first time.
The Army's Layered Laser Defense System (LLD) system shot down the vehicle, which was a subsonic cruise missile, during tests in February of this year.
The LLD weapon, designed and manufactured by Lockheed Martin, is capable of targeting unmanned air systems, fast attack boats, the use of a high-precision telescope, and indoor air threats.
February's tests were conducted by the Office of Naval Research at the US Army's High Power Laser Systems Test Facility at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
The LLD has also been tested against a wide range of targets, including fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles and quadcopters as well as high-speed drones that served as alternatives to subsonic cruise missiles.
The Navy says laser weapons have many advantages.
In addition to identifying and assessing damage to targets, lasers can disable sensors or dazzle forces without blinding them.
And because it's all-electric, it doesn't require any explosives or propellants, making it much safer.
Moreover, as long as power is available from the ship carrying it, electrically operated lasers theoretically deliver unlimited ammo at a cost of about $1 per shot, New Atlas magazine writes.
“The Navy conducted similar tests during the 1980s, but using chemical-based laser technologies that posed important logistical barriers to operating in an operational environment,” said Dr. Frank Peterkin, Director of Energy Portfolio Directed at ONR.
"And in the end, those kinds of lasers didn't transfer to the fleet or any other service."
Although there are currently no plans to put the LLD into practice, the US Army intends to deploy field-guided energy weapons as part of its Short Range Defense Systems (SHORAD) early this year, according to interesting engineering reports.
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