Navy Tests First Laser Defense Weapons System

[Guest]

Pew pew lasers.

Navy Tests First Laser Defense Weapons System : Read more

 

[house70]

Yay, more money burned... All this budget surplus has to go somewhere.

Oh, wait....

 

[scrumworks]

I wonder which war US starts now to test their new toys.

 

[dalethepcman]

We need only to attach these lasers to sharks and our plans for world domination can begin!

 

[milktea]

How about putting the HEL in space to shoot down some asteroids?

 

[Guest]

in different news, Somali now is the biggest importers of mirrors......

 

[Guest]

so "Stormtrooper Blaster Gun" is possible?

 

[Parrdacc]

[citation][nom]dalethepcman[/nom]We need only to attach these lasers to sharks and our plans for world domination can begin![/citation]

And a holed out volcano.

 

[cryptz]

dont get me wrong, i like the idea, but how is this more of a "defense" mechanism then firing a machine gun/missle at the boat

 

[maestintaolius]

[citation][nom]cryptz[/nom]dont get me wrong, i like the idea, but how is this more of a "defense" mechanism then firing a machine gun/missle at the boat[/citation]
It's cooler.

 

[Guest]

Sarcastic Mode
Damn, now, the enemies will have to start investing in some kind of

M echanism
I nstalled
R ight to
R eturn
O bjects like
R ays

It will cost billions and take hundreds of years of developing. Oh¡ the U.S. Army is so smart.
Sarcastic Mode

 

[lamorpa]

[citation][nom]cryptz[/nom]how is this more of a "defense" mechanism then firing a machine gun/missle at the boat[/citation]
Why would you use this and then fire a gun/missile? I would first ask, how this is more of a defense mechanism than firing a gun/missile.

 

[alphadark]

[citation][nom]lamorpa[/nom]Why would you use this and then fire a gun/missile? I would first ask, how this is more of a defense mechanism than firing a gun/missile.[/citation]

Explosive munitions carry a heavy price tag. If you can attack a target using a weapon that only requires energy or hunk of metal(rail gun) you cut down on costs signifcantly. Since a lot of ships are nucleared powered it makes sense. In addition to cost saving if a ship isn't carry explosives it is much harder to bring down because there are no secondary explosion risks.

My .02 cents.

 

[belltollsforthee]

LOL can a mirror defend against these lasers?

 

[thaile4ever]

2 things comes to mind, precision targeting and Scalable damage.

Being a light speed weapon you can do things like target a motor boat engine. Where as a bullet you have to take into account, wind, gravity, boat movement, etc in order to hit a small target like a motor boat engine.

Second it becomes possible to hit a target with a Non-lethal beam?ray that still hurts and scale the damage up as a boat comes closer.

 

[upgrayedd]

It's a defensive weapon because of its shorter range and slower speed. It is line of sight only and therefore limited by the horizon. Its advantage is that it has an almost unlimited, non-volatile ammo. On a modern ship with a nuclear reactor, you need not worry about expensive ammo that can explode on your own ship.

 

[kkiddu]

[citation][nom]belltollsforthee[/nom]LOL can a mirror defend against these lasers?[/citation]

I think a very high reflective mirror might be able to do so. But such a mirror might not be practically feasible. No real object can reflect all light that falls on it. Some part of the light is always absorbed. If a laser is intended to cause destruction, it can, in my opinion, be safely assumed that a mirror wouldn't stand it long enough to act as a shield.

I'm just a science student and not an expert, so it might be wrong.

 

[tburns1]

Didn't someone just come up with an electromagnetic shield to counter lasers?

 

[Guest]

These lasers are not nessaryly in the visable light spectrum. so a regular mirror will not work.

 

[rykoshet]

[citation][nom]upgrayedd[/nom]It's a defensive weapon because of its shorter range and slower speed.[/citation]

Light speed not fast enough for you?