Could this be a game changer?
 

Navy Deploying Laser Weapon Prototype Near Iran



WASHINGTON — The Navy is going to sea for the first time with a laser attack weapon that has been shown in tests to disable patrol boats and blind or destroy surveillance drones. SmileWavy

Don't you just love this country, God bless America.

Wouldn't that be a line of sight weapon? Is it deployed in an aircraft?
Just can't see how you could lob a shot over the horizon.

Saw that on the news last night, very cool. Of course it has it's limitations but what doesn't. It will evolve. Hundreds of thousand of dollars for a missile or a few dollars per zap? Not bad!

This technology/capability has been around for quite a while. I worked on aircraft-based versions of this system. We used COIL lasers for the power output, but solid state lasers have come a long way. Ship deployment makes a lot of things easier as the power required for solid state lasers is substantial and so are the cooling requirements. It's harder to package the power/cooling on a land-based vehicle (or especially an aircraft).

The laser targeting part is actually easy. Shooting down an aircraft is child's play. It's line of sight. For the ground-based systems I worked on, there were concerns about hitting things you didn't want to. Again, ship-based eases that constraint.

If something can get that close you might already be dead.

Have the Chinese stolen this technology from us yet?

When will we attach them to sharks?

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I don't see it being a couple bucks per shot. It takes a load of power to make this work. the maintenance on the system will probably be pretty high. and yea if you can see the target then that means they can see you as well.

Wonder what the counter to this weapon will be? will a fog mist (counter measure wash down) refract enough of the laser to render it useless.

Chrome wrap.......just like a mirror lol

Think of it as having better tools in the tool box. The laser is a LOS (line-of-sight) weapon but it's just one part of the ship's capabilities.

I've been involved with development of on-board power generation systems to be on the HUMVEE (and/or its replacement) and the main intent of improving this technology will be to support the deployment of a similar system for ground units. It's hard to say when we'll see this fielded but based on the announcement, Buck Rogers and G.I. Joe will be using it in the not too distant future.

I helped out with the laser system installed on a HUMVEE that was tested out Restone for IED demolition. Fun stuff!

Along the lines of "If you have to ask, you can't afford it;" if you have to ask if something is a "game-changer," it's not.

Corollary: if you have to ask a girl if yours is the biggest/you are the best, it isn't/you're not.

My point widebody is that it's a prototype.
With perhaps better things ahead.

All the best to you.

No, we'll hire Chinese H1-B's and hand it to them on a silver platter.

it needs a certain degree of clarity in the air - blind them now; explode them next year

cost is cheaper than ship to air missile but a million a pump right now

suggest you guys contact ONR for more details -- operators are standing by!

will NK feel left out and scream for some to be deployed near them?

Needs clear skies. Rain, fog, clouds all dissipate the laser.

Takes a while to have effect. Fine for a slow drone. Maybe not for two Silkworms approaching at Mach 0.8.

Seems like it would be quickly effective on any manned plane or boat, presuming they can target the cockpit.

I find it slightly funny that we have an anti-drone laser, but we're the primary entity using drones...(at this point, at least).

This has been around for a while:
http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/dangerroom/files/DESM-ProgramOri.pdf

An orbiting PELICAN relay mirror! AWESOME!

edit: a quick parts search turns up nothing :( Wayne?