Navy Putting an Anti-Drone Laser on Their Destroyers in 2020

DooKey

DooKey

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The US Navy has awarded a $150M contract to Lockheed Martinn for a 60-150kw laser (WARNING auto play video) that is going to be used to destroy drones and small boats. The laser system is the High Energy Laser and Integrated Optical-dazzler with Surveillance or Helios for short. Lesser lasers have already been tested by the Army, but this is the first time one is going to be fully integrated into the vessel's power system and the Aegis Combat System. The contract calls for integration by 2020. I feel sorry for anyone that's trying to pull a USS Cole once this is out there.

The deployment of a laser weapon system represents “a watershed moment for directed energy,” Rob Afzal, a Lockheed Martin senior fellow, told reporters. “Laser weapons systems have been desired for decades. One of the missing pieces to actually deploying laser weapons was that we didn’t actually have a laser that was powerful enough and small enough and efficient enough.”
 
I feel like this is one of those cases where in 20 years we'll find out they had lasers 5x-10x as powerful already deployed for the past 5-10 years.
 
t0pquark said:
I feel like this is one of those cases where in 20 years we'll find out they had lasers 5x-10x as powerful already deployed for the past 5-10 years.
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I have an older friend who has degrees in both physics and engineering who was working on a lazer project about 10 years ago that was powerful enough at the time to shoot the moon according to his explanation of the scale they were able to achieve. He was almost giddy when trying to admit it to me.

I know they have ridiculously powerful lasers nowadays that we never get to see tested, but it's not so much the power but the implementation scenarios that take precedence.

stefan231 said:
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I'll see your Dr. Evil and raise you a Real Genius:

 
I guess the Laser doesn't have the munition cost of a Phalanx gun, but I can't imagine it being more effective!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalanx_CIWS

When I was in Navy ROTC (summer of 1998) we were placed on an Aegis Destroyer for a few days, and one thing I remember clearly were those Phalanx guns. The crew told me they had to turn them off/modify the settings when they came into port or they might automatically target seagulls.

Their intent was to decimate any incoming missile, and by all accounts, they are effective.

BUT, if your warship is nuclear powered, then laser energy is nearly free, and won't deplete like the Phalanx (up to 4,500 rounds per minute! at $30 per round!)
 
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I love this thing EXCEPT for the fact that the bad guys won't know they are being shot at with a laser beam until its too late. You don't get to see a red laser beam or anything. It just happens.
 
Geef said:
I love this thing EXCEPT for the fact that the bad guys won't know they are being shot at with a laser beam until its too late. You don't get to see a red laser beam or anything. It just happens.
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Did they test this on animals? I'm curious how fast death is? Would you feel a brief moment of intense heat? Or nothing at all?
 
Archaea said:
I guess the Laser doesn't have the munition cost of a Phalanx gun, but I can't imagine it being more effective!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalanx_CIWS

When I was in Navy ROTC we were placed on an Aegis Destroyer for a few days, and one thing I remember clearly were those Phalanx guns. The crew told me they had to turn them off/modify the settings when they came into port or they might automatically target seagulls.

Their intent was to decimate any incoming missile, and by all accounts, they are effective.

BUT, if your warship is nuclear powered, then laser energy is nearly free, and won't deplete like the Phalanx (up to 4,500 rounds per minute! at $30 per round!)
Click to expand...


So you know that rules like "tweak the Phalanx guns before we port" had to come from some event. Like a horrific seagull massacre must have happened somewhere. Can you imagine approaching shore and suddenly shredded feathers everywhere... lol.
 
Archaea said:
I guess the Laser doesn't have the munition cost of a Phalanx gun, but I can't imagine it being more effective!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalanx_CIWS

When I was in Navy ROTC we were placed on an Aegis Destroyer for a few days, and one thing I remember clearly were those Phalanx guns. The crew told me they had to turn them off/modify the settings when they came into port or they might automatically target seagulls.

Their intent was to decimate any incoming missile, and by all accounts, they are effective.

BUT, if your warship is nuclear powered, then laser energy is nearly free, and won't deplete like the Phalanx (up to 4,500 rounds per minute! at $30 per round!)
Click to expand...

The Phalanx system is extremely short ranged by naval standards, which equates to a very short engagement window. most major combatants in the US Navy use Searam now, which is a missile based system with a much longer range that uses the Phalanx radar with a multi-cell RIM-116 missile launcher. some of the larger Russian missiles have large enough warheads that a ship would still take serious damage if a Phalanx system didn't get it far enough out.
 
Montu said:
snip I feel sorry for anyone that's trying to pull a USS Cole once this is out there.

.”
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The USS Cole was blown up while at dock, refueling. This system would not have helped the Cole, as it was under very strict ROE's, the deck watch was manning an M-60 machine gun, and let the boat approach the Cole and detonate. they were required to contact the bridge before firing on any vessel approaching. If the current rules of engagement applied, the deck watch would have destroyed the boat before it could have become a danger.
 
:D Integrated Optical Dazzler:

980x.jpg
 
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