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THE FUTURE IS HERE - United States Navy Deploys Laser Weapon Near Iran!

Navy Deploying Laser Weapon Prototype Near Iran



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.

A prototype shipboard laser will be deployed on a converted amphibious transport and docking ship in the Persian Gulf, where Iranian fast-attack boats have harassed American warships and where the government in Tehran is building remotely piloted aircraft carrying surveillance pods and, someday potentially, rockets.







The laser will not be operational until next year, but the announcement on Monday by Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert, the chief of naval operations, seemed meant as a warning to Iran not to step up activity in the gulf in the next few months if tensions increase because of sanctions and the impasse in negotiations over the Iranian nuclear program. The Navy released video and still images of the laser weapon burning through a drone during a test firing.

The laser is designed to carry out a graduated scale of missions, from burning through a fast-attack boat or a drone to producing a nonlethal burst to “dazzle” an adversary’s sensors and render them useless without causing any other physical damage.






“Equipping Navy surface ships with lasers could lead to changes in naval tactics, ship design and procurement plans for ship based weapons, bringing about a technological shift for the Navy — a ‘game changer’ — comparable to the advent of shipboard missiles in the 1950s,” said the assessment, by the Congressional Research Service, a branch of the Library of Congress.





It seems quite Star Wars-esque doesn't it? :eek:
(edited 11 years ago)
Hmm to be honest the amount the US spends on the military im not impressed.
Original post by Bill_Gates
Hmm to be honest the amount the US spends on the military im not impressed.


True. Although the laser weapon is only in its prototype stage, but still.
Part of me says this is really cool, but another part of me says that the money could be better spent.

Hopefully this'll be used well and will actually be advantageous.
Original post by Bonoahx
Part of me says this is really cool, but another part of me says that the money could be better spent.

Hopefully this'll be used well and will actually be advantageous.


Then again, it could start an arms race. :lol:
So it's a "laser."

Original post by thunder_chunky
So it's a "laser."



:lol:


Do you know who Kim Jong Un reminds me of? Dr. Evil! :ahee: They're both always holding the world to ransom!
Reply 7
Avatar for Steevee
Steevee
15
Nuts to the laser, I wanna see some Rail Gun action. Come on America, do eeeet.
Original post by Steevee
Nuts to the laser, I wanna see some Rail Gun action. Come on America, do eeeet.


They certainly have enough funds and expertise for it. I'm sure the equivalent of the iPhone 10 or something is already available to the military industrial complex.
Reply 9
Avatar for Steevee
Steevee
15
Original post by HumanSupremacist
They certainly have enough funds and expertise for it. I'm sure the equivalent of the iPhone 10 or something is already available to the military industrial complex.


They already have one I think, they've just not used it in anger. Or at least they had one that was past development and into prototype testing as far as I recall.

Having taken a look at the old stuff I was reading, there's been a ton of prototypes and the US Navy may phase one rail gun into use as early as 2025. They have the tech but at the moment some of the logistics are the problem with making them a viable weapons system.
(edited 11 years ago)
Why the **** are the USA spending billions on stupid pointless laser designs when really inspirational programs such as NASA are being ignored
Reply 11
Avatar for Drewski
Drewski
19
Original post by Bonoahx
Part of me says this is really cool, but another part of me says that the money could be better spent.


Because they're actually cheaper than conventional weapons. So by using things like this they're saving money.
Original post by thunder_chunky
So it's a "laser."



Here's the plan. We get the warhead and we hold the world ransom for... ONE MILLION DOLLARS!

Original post by Drewski
Because they're actually cheaper than conventional weapons. So by using things like this they're saving money.


Well if it saves money then that's actually pretty amazing. Can it be used on more than planes?
Original post by FuLLuPMepOrtION
Why the **** are the USA spending billions on stupid pointless laser designs when really inspirational programs such as NASA are being ignored


YOU THINK THE LASER IS AWESOME

WAIT TILL YOU SEE THIS

[video="youtube;tFrjrgBV8K0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFrjrgBV8K0[/video]

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