U.S. destroyers are equipped with new laser guns and future high-power laser weapons or aircraft carriers

The US "National Interest" bimonthly website published an article by David Ackers "The US Navy has finally acquired the most advanced laser weapons" on December 3, saying that the US Navy installed a new type of laser gun on a destroyer. As the United States is busy deploying anti-ship missile defense systems, this installation may mark a major step forward for the US fleet. The full text is as follows:

    A source provided a photo of the Warzone website editor Tyler Rogoway to the San Diego naval base, the Ali Burke-class destroyer Dewey. In the photo, Dewey appears to be equipped with a new laser weapon on its foredeck.

    Optical dazzling interception system

    The US Navy is developing several ship-based directed energy weapons. It is unclear exactly which laser weapon the destroyer was carrying.

    "According to our analysis, the most likely thing we saw on the Dewey was the navy optical glare interception system," Rogoway said.

    The optical dazzle interception system is a lower power laser system that will be used to interfere with enemy optoelectronic and infrared sensor systems by emitting a modulated "dazzling" laser beam, similar to a directional infrared countermeasure system to protect aircraft from hot-seeking missile The way. Optical dazzling interception systems will be able to counter ship-borne equipment, aircraft and drones, and even anti-ship cruise missiles and ballistic missiles.

    The optically dazzling interception system can complement existing active and passive defense components on the US Navy's main battleships. Current defensive weapons include Standard-6, Standard-3, Standard-2, improved Sea Sparrow missiles and Ram air defense missiles, close-in artillery guns, and Narka "Anti-missile decoy systems, as well as SLQ-32 and SLQ-59 electronic warfare systems.

    Many shipborne passive defense systems are designed to interfere with radar guidance of anti-ship missiles, but more and more missiles are also equipped with infrared guidance systems that do not have radar interference.

    Rogoway pointed out that the optical glare interception system "may interfere with these missiles and cause them to derail or fall into the sea when they launch an attack."

    Laser weapons continue to mature

    The Dewey laser weapon is one of two striking new directed energy weapons that have appeared in recent weeks. In mid-October 2019, the US Navy began shipping powerful new laser weapons from a Northrop-Grumman facility in Redondo Beach, California to the San Diego Naval Base.

    The "War Zone" website pioneered the difficult process of transporting these bulky weapons.

    In San Diego, workers plan to install the 150-kilowatt laser weapon on the amphibious assault ship Portland. The ship's crew may begin testing this new weapon from the end of 2019.

    Northrop Grumman developed the laser weapon under the support of the US Navy's $ 53 million "Solid State Laser Technology Maturity" program. The plan started in 2015.

    As a shipborne weapon, laser weapons may have several advantages over traditional weapons such as artillery or missiles. First, laser weapons do not require ammunition. As long as the ship is powered, the laser weapon can continue to fire. It also hits targets faster than missiles.

    However, today's laser weapons lack the power and range to destroy large targets several miles away or perform any damage. The "Solid State Laser Technology Maturity" program and a related Lockheed Martin effort may give laser weapons the power and range to protect ships from drones, small ships, cruise missiles, and even ballistic missiles.

    Admiral William Moran, then Deputy Secretary of the Navy ’s War Department, said at an industry conference in 2016: "Low-cost directed energy weapons must be part of our future. If we continue to rely on kinetic energy weapons, we will lose our ability to defend ourselves. . "

    The Naval Society News website explains that the Navy wants the "Solid State Laser Technology Maturity" program to be a learning experience. The US Navy chose to install this weapon because of the space and backup power of this 25,000-ton displacement ship, which can effectively accommodate Northrop Grumman tractor-sized laser weapons.

    Around the same time, the US Navy awarded Lockheed Martin a $ 150 million contract to develop a "high-energy laser with an integrated optical blinding and surveillance system."

    The 60-kilowatt "high-energy laser with integrated optical blinding and monitoring system" system has less power than the "solid-state laser technology mature" plan. The US Navy plans to install smaller laser guns on destroyers starting in 2021.

    The US Navy hopes to begin deploying megawatt-class laser weapons by 2025. A laser weapon with this power can destroy ballistic missiles, but it may require a huge ship that also has sufficient power. For example, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.