The laser installation on the ship will allow him to fight with a whole flotilla of kamikaze boats. Yesterday, December 15, the portal thedrive.com He reported that the US Navy tested the installation of the Laser Weapon System Demonstrator Mk 2 Mod 0 from the deck of the landing ship USS Portland.
The tests were carried out in the Gulf of Aden. The US Navy called them successful, but did not disclose the technical details of testing. It is known that the target was a drifting target in the form of a small raft. She imitated a small boat packed with explosives (the use of such watercraft has become more frequent in recent years).
Hitting a surface target with a laser beam
Image source: thedrive.com
Last year, the crew of the USS Portland was already testing LaWS. Then the laser hit the air target, for protection from which it was designed. Now the navy has expanded the scope of the combat laser, testing the possibility of hitting surface targets.
A new generation of LaWS (Laser Weapon System) was installed on the USS Portland. It is much more powerful than those with which it is planned to equip smaller ships of the American fleet, but requires significant power of the power plant. Technical details about laser weapons in the United States have not yet been disclosed, indicating that it can be effectively used against small drones.
