US test new truck-mounted laser weapon capable of blasting enemy drones out of the sky
THE US Marines are battle-testing a new laser weapon which can be used by combat soldiers to blast enemy drones out of the sky. The Compact Laser Weapons System (CLaWS) is the first “ray gun” approved by the Defense Dept. for use by ground troops. The weapons system is designed to down drones at ranges […]
THE US Marines are battle-testing a new laser weapon which can be used by combat soldiers to blast enemy drones out of the sky.
The Compact Laser Weapons System (CLaWS) is the first “ray gun” approved by the Defense Dept. for use by ground troops.
The weapons system is designed to down drones at ranges of hundreds of meters by burning off parts of the body or igniting onboard fuel supplies or bombs.
And the Boeing-built war machine – which is fitted to an armoured vehicle – is primed and now waiting for the all clear to go on active duty.
“Getting the Marines trained, and getting the systems ready to deploy took about one year,” said Lt. Col. Ho Lee, a product manager at Program Executive Office Land Systems.
Military top brass believe lasers are a more affordable alternative to traditional firepower and that they prevent drones from tracking and targeting Marines on the ground.
The news comes after Iran shot down a US drone over the Strait of Hormuz – a move that led President Trump to sign off on revenge strikes after saying Tehran had made a “very big mistake.”
The Sun Online has already revealed how America’s Army and Navy are already exploring the use of laser weapons.
The US Navy has bought two incredible laser cannons that are capable of blasting drones into dust.
These so-called “high-energy lasers” use huge amounts of power to destroy their targets, and will soon be loaded on to operational warships.
The lasers were built by Lockheed Martin, and can be used to strike boats and small drones.
But by boosting the power from 150 kilowatts per shot to 300 kilowatts, it’s possible to destroy incoming missiles – before they hit their targets.
The pair of cannons cost the US Navy $150million, but that’s a small fee for the added security the mega-lasers will bring.
One laser will remain on land, and will be used for military testing purposes.
Anti-missile lasers could soon be attached to US fighter jets after a successful ground test.
The military planes could be getting the ‘Star Wars’ style equipment as soon as 2020.
US Air Force officials have revealed that they conducted a successful test using a ground based laser as it was able to shoot down “several missiles”.
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The exact number of missiles the lasers can shoot down cannot be revealed for security reasons.
The test was run by the Air Force as part of the Self-Protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator (SHiELD), which is a program aiming to create tech for protecting aircraft from incoming missiles.
Although, the ground missile was quite large, the military researchers think they are now much closer to creating one that is small enough to attach to an aircraft.
