Navy to Deploy Laser Weapon to Persian Gulf

Lasers are common, but until now, no one has deployed a laser for use as a weapon. The United States Navy announced on Monday that it now has a laser weapons system ready for deployment. The solid-state laser will be placed on the U.S.S. Ponce sometime after Oct. 1, the beginning of the federal fiscal year 2014. Ponce serves as a Afloat Forward Staging Base in the Persian Gulf.

Laser weapons

The U.S. Navy has a vigorous program developing directed energy weapons. Among those are lasers. In 2011, the Navy successfully demonstrated a 15-kilowatt laser that could disable the engine of a small boat at sea from four miles away. Recent tests of the laser as a weapon included its successful use against a drone. According to the Navy, each shot with a laser costs less than a dollar . Only electricity and cooling are needed for the weapons system to operate, eliminating any dangers from explosive warheads or propellants. In addition, energy from a laser weapon takes just a fraction of a second to reach its target. It is a "point and shoot" weapon with no correction for wind needed.

U.S.S. Ponce

The U.S.S. Ponce has had an interesting history with the U.S. Navy. She originally joined the fleet as a amphibious transport dock in 1971. As she was about to be decommissioned, a second mission was assigned. The ship is now a Afloat Forward Staging Base , a unique Navy concept. The ship has been converted to support special operations missions as well as mine countermeasures ships and helicopters. Its deployment to Central Command and station in the Persian Gulf provides critical support for those two vital missions.

The threat in the Gulf

Iran is the primary threat to U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf. The Iranians have used small boats in the past to attack ships in the region. They have also pursued and developed drone technology, creating a risk to naval vessels from the air. Reuters last May highlighted the threat to the U.S. and its allies from Iranian naval and Revolutionary Guard small boat attacks . In September, the BBC reported that Iran had developed a drone with a range of 1,240 miles.

Science fiction is becoming science fact. As the technology matures, laser weapons will assume an important place in the U.S. Navy's arsenal. The U.S.S. Ponce is the first of many ships to have the technology edge of a laser.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/navy-deploy-laser-weapon-persian-gulf-164600607.html

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