The United States conducted the world's first test of a laser weapon that shoots at the speed of light
The US Navy conducted the world's first laser weapon test.
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About it reported by CNN, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
The laser weapon system (LaWS) is deployed aboard the amphibious ship USS Ponce.
“It’s more accurate than a bullet. It is not a highly specialized weapon system, like some other weapons that the military has, that only operate against air contacts, or only against surface targets, or only, for example, ground targets. This is a very versatile weapon, it can be used against many targets,” said the ship’s captain, Christopher Wells.
LaWS is a weapon that cannot be compared to any other ever invented, writes CNN. It fires at the speed of light, which, by comparison, is 50 times faster than intercontinental ballistic missiles.
“It shoots a huge number of photons at an object that is approaching. We don't worry about wind, we don't worry about range, we don't worry about anything else. We can hit targets at the speed of light,” explains system manager Cale Hughes.
As Hughes points out, there is no need to “lead” the target.
"We shoot at the speed of light, so it's just point and shoot - we see it, we focus on it and we can destroy the target," he said.
To test the weapon, the military launched a target - an unmanned aircraft, a weapon increasingly used by Iran, North Korea, China, Russia and other adversaries, the TV channel reported.
During the shot, in an instant, the wing of the drone caught fire, heating up to a temperature of a thousand degrees, and the target fell into the water. The shot happened quietly and unseen.
"It operates in the invisible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, so you don't see the beam, it doesn't make any sound, it's completely silent and incredibly efficient at what it does," Hughes said.
To operate the $40 million system, you only need a supply of electricity, which is generated by a small generator, and a team of 3 people.
For now, the laser is intended to destroy aircraft and small ships. At the same time, as CNN reports, the Navy is developing powerful second-generation systems to defeat more significant targets: missiles. These developments remain classified.
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