Drone Shot Down With Laser Beam

Science fiction fans and military scientists have dreamed of using lasers as weapons for decades, but from next summer it will become a reality. The U.S. Navy announced on Monday that it will attach a prototype of its Laser Weapons System (LaWS) to USS Ponce and send the amphibious transport docking ship to the Middle East in 2014. This will be the first time a laser weapon is used in active service. The blast of infrared energy it delivers can disable a small boat or even take down a drone from above as an impressive Navy video shows. Navy researchers told reporters that the laser gun, or a 'directed energy pulse weapon' as the military call it, destroyed its targets 100 percent of the time in testing. 'It operates much like a blowtorch... with an unlimited magazine,' The new weapon will be mounted to the fantail of the USS Ponce and sent to the 5th fleet region which includes the Persian Gulf and the Horn of Africa. The Navy hopes that the laser will be invaluable in combating the small Iranian fast boats and surveillance drones that harass U.S. vessels in the area. Officials hope that in the next decade the new weapon will be able to shoot down an incoming missile.

• 2013-04-09T17:04:43+00:00
• Duration: 01:10

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