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the US Navy apparently has installed a
new laser cannon on one of its
destroyers the installation could
represent a big step forward for the US
fleet as it scrambles to deploy defenses
against Chinese and Russian anti-ship
missiles
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the US Navy apparently has installed a
new laser cannon on one of its
destroyers the installation could
represent a big step forward for the US
fleet as it scrambles to deploy defenses
against Chinese and Russian anti-ship
missiles
a source provided to Tyler rogue away
editor of the war zone a photo of the
arleigh burke-class destroyer USS Dewey
at the Naval Base in San Diego in the
photo due he appears to sport a new
laser weapon on its forward deck
the Navy is developing several
directed-energy weapons for shipboard
use it's unclear exactly which laser the
destroyer carries rogue away engaged in
some educated guesswork by our analysis
the most likely answer to what we are
seeing on Dewey is the optical dazzling
interdictor Navy system which was set to
be installed on a Navy destroyer by the
end of this year
optical dazzling interdictor Navy system
as a lower power laser system that will
be used to blind enemy electro optical
and infrared sensor systems by shining a
modulated Dazzler laser beam at them in
a similar manner as to how directed
infrared countermeasures systems work to
defend aircraft from heat-seeking
missiles optical dazzling interdictor
Navy system will be capable of
countering ship and boat based systems
those used by aircraft and drones and
even those used by anti-ship cruise and
ballistic missiles
optical dazzling interdictor Navy system
could complement the existing active and
passive self defense Suites on the
Navy's major warships current defenses
include sm6 sm-3 sm - evolved sea
sparrow and rolling airframe missile
surface-to-air missiles phalanx radar
guided guns
Nilka decoys in the SL q 32 and SL q 59
radar jammers
many of the passive defenses are
designed to disrupt an anti-ship
missiles radar guidance but more and
more Chinese and Russian missiles also
feature infrared guidance against which
the radar countermeasures are useless
optical dazzling interdictor Navy system
could blind these missiles sending them
off course or into the sea as they make
their kamikaze attack runs rogue away
noted
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Dewey's laser is one of two new
directed-energy weapons to make a
dramatic public appearance in recent
weeks the US Navy in mid-october 2019
began shipping a powerful new laser
weapon from a Northrop Grumman facility
in Redondo Beach California to the Navy
base in San Diego
the war zone was the first to report on
the painstaking process of moving the
bulky weapon
in San Diego workers plan to install the
150 kilowatt laser on the amphibious
assault ship USS Portland the vessels
crew could test the new weapon beginning
in late 2019
Northrup built the laser under the
auspices of the Navy's $53 million
solid-state laser technology maturation
program which launched in 2015
as a shipboard weapon a laser could hold
several advantages over traditional
weapons such as guns or missiles for one
a laser does not need ammunition as long
as the ship has power
the laser can continue firing a laser
also could strike targets faster than
say a missile could do
but today's lasers lack the power and
range to destroy large targets or do any
damage at all at ranges farther than a
few miles
SSL TM and a related effort at Lockheed
Martin could result in lasers with the
power and range to defend ships from
drones small boats cruise missiles and
even ballistic missiles
low-cost directed-energy weapons have to
be part of our future
Admiral William Moran then Vice Chief of
Naval Operations said at an industry
conference in 2016 if we have to
continue to rely on projectiles we will
run out of the ability to defend
ourselves
the Navy intends SSL TM to be a learning
experience
USN i-news explained the service
selected Portland to host the weapon
because the 25,000 ton displacement
vessel possesses the space and spare
electrical power effectively to host
Northrop's tractor-trailer sized laser
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once installed on the ship the Navy will
learn much about laser weapons through
SSL TM testing u.s. ni news reporter
megan rotundi
around the same time the Navy tapped
Northrop to build the SSL TM the sailing
branch also awarded Lockheed a $150
million contract to develop the
high-energy laser with integrated
optical Dazzler and surveillance system
or Helios the 60 kilowatt helios draws
less power than the SSL TM does the Navy
plans to begin installing the smaller
laser cannon on destroyers starting in
2021 optical dazzling interdictor Navy
system functions as a proof of concept
for the more powerful Helios laser the
Navy hopes to begin fielding a megawatt
class laser in the 2025 timeframe a
laser with that kind of power could
destroy ballistic missiles but might
require a very large host ship that also
has ample electrical power a
nuclear-powered aircraft carrier for
instance
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