Military tests Laser Weapon System

This isn't science fiction. This summer the United States Navy will add the first ship-mounted laser to their fleet, and that's just the beginning. The U.S. Department of Defense say its a new era. Have you heard of the Invention Secrecy Act? Directed energy weapons might not replace traditional weapons any time soon.

The Navy is testing if laser beams can serve as legitimate weapons against approaching small aircraft or high-speed boats.
The Laser Weapon System or LaWS is a directed-energy weapon developed by the United States Navy. The Army and the Air Force also have developed slab solid-state laser prototypes and continue to test them. Lasers tend to perform better in a vacuum.

Raytheon, BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman are designing concepts for a high-energy laser weapon. The Navy plans to tap existing technologies from other military laser programs.

Peter Vietti, spokesperson for the Office of Naval Research, said the potential of laser weapons is significant. They could be used not only as defensive weapons in the traditional sense but also in "electromagnetic maneuver warfare," he said. "In the future, and at higher power levels, lasers may have a capability to defeat air threats including cruise missiles, providing a robust ship area defense capability with nearly endless magazines."

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