Although the U.S. Navy’s $40 million Laser Weapon System (LaWS) just looks like a backyard telescope on steroids, this piece of equipment may herald the future of warfare — at sea, in the air and on the ground.
The first weapon of its kind the Navy has ever deployed, LaWS is mounted on the deck of the USS Ponce, which is based in the Persian Gulf region. In a series of successful tests run in late 2014 after its installation, LaWS’ invisible, infrared beams of energy knocked out various unmanned targets, including a small speedboat and a drone.
Read the full article at USA Today.
Author
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Paul Scharre
Executive Vice President and Director of Studies
Paul Scharre is the Executive Vice President and Director of Studies at CNAS. He is the award-winning author of Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence...
