US yajaribu 30kW Laser Weapon, Kama Star Wars

Kijakazi

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Jun 26, 2007
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U.S. Navy Deploys Its First Laser Weapon in the Persian Gulf

The U.S. Navy has deployed on a command ship in the Persian Gulf its first laser weapon capable of destroying a target.

The amphibious transport shipUSS Ponce has been patrolling with a prototype 30-kilowatt-classLaser Weapon System since late August, according to officials. The laser is mounted facing the bow, and can be fired in several modes -- from a dazzling warning flash to a destructive beam -- and can set a drone or small boat on fire.

The Ponce "provides a unique platform" to deploy the new capability "in an operationally relevant region," Vice Admiral John Miller, the 5th Fleet commander, said in an e-mailed statement. The ship is the 5th Fleet's primary command and control afloat staging base for operations
Since 2011, the Navy has boosted its presence in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's traded oil flows. Equipped with naval mines and small vessels that practice swarming tactics to attack larger warships, Iranian officials have periodically threatened to close the waterway.

The Navy laser wasn't specifically designed or deployed to counter Iran's arsenal of small armed vessels, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert said in an interview earlier this year.

Source: John F. Williams/U.S. NavyThe prototype weapon is an improved version of the Laser Weapon System (LaWS) pictured...Read More


"I wouldn't target a country for a weapon, nor would I preclude putting together a weapons system for a country by itself," he said.

The laser deployment is "a worthwhile experiment" because "it'll help us feel out the operational limitations" such as power constraints, Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's top weapons buyer said at a Bloomberg Government breakfast in April.
Testing the Weapon

However, he said, "I still think we have some work to do on the technology side."

"What am I looking for? How does it operate in that environment -- heat, humidity, dust and at sea," Greenert said in the interview. "It's got to roll, move around, how much power does it take to sustain it?"

"I have to take it out and get it wet, and the Arabian Gulf's a pretty tough environment," he said.
Naval Sea Systems Command technicians developed the prototype over seven years at a cost of about $40 million. The Ponce crew was authorized to deploy the weapon after it passed a series of at-sea tests, including lasing static surface targets, the 5th Fleet spokesman Commander Kevin Stephens said in an e-mail statement.

The prototype focuses the light from six solid-state commercial welding lasers on a single spot, according to a July 31 Congressional Research Service report. It "can effectively counter surface and airborne threats, to include small boats" and drones, Miller said, and firing it costs about a dollar a shot, according to the Navy.


Source: U.S. Navy, Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel M. Young via Bloomberg

The amphibious transport ship USS Ponce in the Arabian Gulf on Sept. 25, 2014.

Adjustable Strength

The device can emit progressively stronger beams, first to warn an adversary, and then destroy it if necessary, Chief of Naval Research Rear Admiral Matthew Klunder said at a Bloomberg Government session this year.

The laser can be adjusted to fire a non-lethal dazzling flash at an incoming vessel so they know it's there "all the way to lethal," Klunder said. The laser's range is classified.

New York-based L-3 Communications Holdings LLC (LLL) and Pennsylvania State University's Electro Optics Center have provided components and engineering support.

The lessons from the one-year Ponce deployment will feed Navy laser development by industry teams led byBAE Systems Plc (BAESY), Northrop Grumman Corp.

(NOC)
and Raytheon Co. (RTN), to field a more powerful weapon, possibly by 2021.


Those efforts are separate from military laser designators to guide precision munitions, non-lethal crowd control devices or discontinued instruments intended to blind enemy electro-optical sensors.


Source: U.S. Navy, Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel M. Young via Bloomberg
USS Ponce has been patrolling with a prototype 30-kilowatt-class Laser Weapon System...Read More

Source:bloomberg
 
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Ina uwezo wa kufanya maangamizi umbali gani kutoka inapotokea? Na damage inakuwaje?
 
Ina uwezo wa kufanya maangamizi umbali gani kutoka inapotokea? Na damage inakuwaje?

Mionzi (laser) inayotoka ina Nguvu ya kilowatt 30 (30kW); Kilowatt (kW) 1 = 1000 Watt (W), hivyo unaweza kupiga hesabu mwenyewe na ukajijibu maswali yako, nafikiri!
 
Pasi tunazotumia ni watt 1000 au 1KW. Sasa moto wa kilowatt 30 unaoaafiri kama mwanga ni hatari sana. Ukikupitia huo ni kama radi
 
Ya kawaida, nini? Embu funguka!
Laser weapons technology ipo mda mrefu baadhi ya nchi zimekua zikiifanyia kazi kama marekani,russia,china na hata israel na hasa inalengwa kutumika kama airdefence platform ndo maana hivi karibuni wamarekani wameipachika kwenye baadhi ya merikebu zake za kijeshi pale mashariki ya kati kwa majaribio,si unajua tena wamarekani silaha zao hujaribishia kwa waarabu.
silaha za mionzi zimechelewa kuingia uwanja wa vita juu hazikua effective sana na ndo maana wanajaribu kuzipeferct
 
Laser weapons technology ipo mda mrefu baadhi ya nchi zimekua zikiifanyia kazi kama marekani,russia,china na hata israel na hasa inalengwa kutumika kama airdefence platform ndo maana hivi karibuni wamarekani wameipachika kwenye baadhi ya merikebu zake za kijeshi pale mashariki ya kati kwa majaribio,si unajua tena wamarekani silaha zao hujaribishia kwa waarabu.
silaha za mionzi zimechelewa kuingia uwanja wa vita juu hazikua effective sana na ndo maana wanajaribu kuzipeferct


Kumbe ndicho ulichomaanisha kwa kusema ,,mbona za kawaida sana'', nilidhani kwa msemo huo ulikuwa unaongelea kitu ambacho kipo kwa wingi na kinatumika, yaani ukisema kitu fulani mbona cha kawaida sana maana yake ni kama vile mtu asifu Ugali mweupe TZ, Mtz anaweza kusema unasifu nini mbona wa kawaida sana tu, kwa maana kila MTz anakula Ugali kila siku, ndio maana sikukuelewa!
 
The problem with Laser Weapon on ships is that it can be disabled with electromagnet warfare.
That's the problem with going all "digital"
Faraday protection won't help because "burn through" is easier to cause than to protect from. I am of course talking about abilities of Superpowers, not small countries that can't defend themselves anyway.
 
Also Problems associated with time between blasts associated with recharging the laser, bad weather, range and tracking issues are far from being worked out.
A laser like this needs to hold on target long enough to heat the skin of it , induce fire and through that cause the destruction of the inbound threat.
Maximum range is not as far as say a cannon round with a proximity warhead. No matter how far out the round still goes 'boom' when close to the intended target. The laser loses energy quickly in air, especially air with fog and or rain in it.
The ability to strike multiple targets with a single laser is limited by the time it takes to track and "burn" holes in one target, recharge and engage another. All computer driven and subject to machine "decisions"
 
It's "flawless" accuracy, affordability, even its environmental impact in terms of explosives and debris are real positives. The only debris from destruction of targets will be the target itself and the explosion from its own components. The accuracy is a great plus because we know how many mistakes are made that way with much of current weaponry.
This particular laser does have limited use on targets. Its use is as a defence against drones, helicopters and smaller ocean craft.
Lasers are sure to become more powerful and this technology will evolve
 
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