USN shipborne energy beam wpn/Shipboard Laser Weapon System - LaWS

[jollyjacktar]

Inrtesting looking piece of gear.  Photos and video at story link below.  Love the name of the ship. 

Navy's first ever LASER gun that sets fire to enemy aircraft and ships is deployed to the Gulf
The solid-state Laser Weapon System is designed to target what the Navy describes as 'asymmetrical threats'
Those include aerial drones, speed boats and swarm boats -- all are potential threats in the Persian Gulf, specifically from Iranian forces
The system is aboard the USS Ponce, which has been patrolling with the weapon since late August

ByApand Josh Gardner for MailOnline

Published: 05:45 GMT, 17 November 2014 | Updated: 13:13 GMT, 17 November 2014

The US military has deployed its first laser weapon ever to be used in combat.  The science fiction made real armament is seven years in the making and comes at a cost of $40 million.  Dubbed the 30-kilowatt-class Laser Weapon System, the devices was installed onto the USS Ponce in August, where the warship has been patrolling with it ever since.

Navy officials say the weapon can set fire to targets at the speed of light. Those targets include aerial drones, speed boats and swarm boats, all potential threats to warships in the Persian Gulf, where the Ponce, a floating staging base, is deployed.  Bloomberg reports that the system was given the okay for use in the field after passing a series of at-sea tests.  'I have to take it out and get it wet, and the Arabian Gulf's a pretty tough environment,' Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert said.

For the Navy, it's not so much about the whiz-bang technology as it is about the economics of such an armament, which costs pennies on the dollar compared with missiles and smart bombs, and the weapons can be fired continuously, unlike missiles and bombs, which eventually run out.  The weapon has several power levels.

It may be used as a 'dazzling' warning shot to deter enemies or turned 'all the way up to lethal' said Chief of Naval Research Rear Admiral Matthew Klunder.'  The weapon's range remains classified.  Shooting the laser costs about $1 per shot, according to the Navy's July 31 report.  Just like in the movies, the Navy's laser directs a beam of energy that can burn through a target or fry sensitive electronics. Unlike the movie, the laser beam is invisible to the human eye.  The targeting system locks onto the target, sending a beam of searing heat.  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.

FIRST LASER WEAPON - HOW DOES IT WORK?

The laser weapon system (LaWS) prototype combines light beams from six commercial, off-the-shelf solid-state welding lasers.  Each beam has a power of 5.5 kilowats, to create a laser with a total power of round 33 kW.  The light from the six lasers is said to be incoherently combined because the individual beams are not merged into a true single beam (i.e., the individual beams are not brought in phase with each other). 

The laser actually uses six separate, commercial welding lasers that combine into a more powerful series of beams that can set fire to moving targets.  Although the beams are quite close to one another, they remain separate and out of phase with each other, and are steered and focused by the beam director so that they converge into a single spot when they reach the intended target. Coherently combining the six beams into a true single beam (i.e., one in which the six beams are “phase locked”) would require a system with more-complex internal optics and electronic control systems.

Source: Congressional Research Service

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2837385/US-Navy-arms-warship-LASER-tackle-rogue-Iranian-warships-Persian-gulf.html#ixzz3JKjvNRcs
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[Scoobie Newbie]

Doesn't look very robust

 

[Colin Parkinson]

To be fair this is the experimental model, so ease of access likely was the main design factor. If the tech proves out, building a armoured housing for it won't be hard.

 

[PuckChaser]

Is the model that fits on sharks in the works?

 

[CougarKing]

Also already posted before at the Laser AD weapons thread in the artillery section.

 

[CougarKing]

And now a word from this article's sponsor:  ;D

Navy Recognition

US Navy Selects Northrop Grumman to Design & Produce Shipboard Laser Weapon System

The U.S. Navy will get a peek at a future where high energy laser weapons could defend its ships against attack under a contract awarded Oct. 22 to Northrop Grumman Corporation by the Office of Naval Research (ONR).

Under the three-phase Laser Weapon System Demonstrator (LWSD) contract, the company will design, produce, integrate, and support the shipboard testing of a 150-kilowatt-class solid state (electric) laser weapon system.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[tomahawk6]

More difficult will be mounting a laser on the new aircrfat that are being designed.Where will the power come from for that ?

 

[Underway]

Jeepers 150KW!  Thats only 5 times more powerful than than the one deployed on the USS PONCE and about 7 times more powerful than the most industrial cutting lasers.  So the question is are they designing a laser that puts out that kinda power or are they using multiple smaller power lasers focused on a single spot.  Advantages and disadvantages to both approaches.

 

[CougarKing]

A surface fleet entirely equipped with lasers one day?

National Interest

US Navy Develops Laser Weapon Prototypes for Destroyers, Cruisers (and Maybe Carriers)
Kris Osborn

September 14, 2016


The Navy plans to arm its destroyers and other ships with high-tech, low-cost ship-board laser weapons engineered to quickly incinerate enemy drones, small boats, aircraft, ships and missiles, service officials told Scout Warrior.

The Office of Naval Research is working on 12-month, $53-million deal with Northrop Grumman to develop a Laser Weapon System Demonstrator through three phases; the phases include an initial design phase, ground-testing phase and then weapons testing at sea aboard a Navy Self Defense test ship, a Northrop statement said.

(...SNIPPED)

 

[YZT580]

pardon my ignorance but how effective are any of these things when it is cloudy?  Explosives only need to come close whilst light has to be right on.

 

[a_majoor]

More difficult will be mounting a laser on the new aircrfat that are being designed.Where will the power come from for that ?

The turbine engine provides a huge surplus of power, all that would be needed is a properly sized high speed generator tapping some of the energy from the engine's gearbox. The F-35 was partially sold on the promise that the drive shaft for the lift fan could be adapted on the USAF and USN models to drive a powerful generator for this purpose, and turboprop aircraft and attack helicopters are uniquely equipped to draw energy from the drive shaft.

The real issue would be to have fast charging capacitor banks to accumulate the energy from the generator and then rapidly discharge it into the laser to energize the weapon.

Jeepers 150KW!  Thats only 5 times more powerful than than the one deployed on the USS PONCE and about 7 times more powerful than the most industrial cutting lasers.  So the question is are they designing a laser that puts out that kinda power or are they using multiple smaller power lasers focused on a single spot.  Advantages and disadvantages to both approaches.

At least one prototype was assembled by bundling six industrial cutting lasers together. The difficulty of this approach is ensuring all the lasers are in phase with each other, and putting all six beams properly on a "beam expander" mirror to accurately engage the target. There are advantages to this approach, including graceful degradation (if one laser module fails, you still have the others putting energy on target).

Military grade lasers are generally "tuned" to infrared bands which pass through the atmosphere with much less absorption than visible light. Clouds, rain, dust and other aerosols do affect them, so lasers are only part of the system of weapons to attack and defend. Farther in the future, railguns or other electrically powered weapons will join lasers, and clouds will not stop hypersonic projectiles on their way to a target. And these weapons will supplement, not replace conventional guns, missiles and other weapons.
pardon my ignorance but how effective are any of these things when it is cloudy?  Explosives only need to come close whilst light has to be right on.