U.S. Will Deploy Solid-State Laser Weapon On Ship Headed To Persian Gulf

|[url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/04/08/176594482/u-s-will-deploy-solid-state-laser-weapon-on-ship-headed-to-persian-gulf?sc=tw]Source[/url]| [quote]For the first time ever, the United States is deploying a solid-state laser weapon. The Laser Weapon System (LaWS) successfully destroyed a drone in flight during a test run and will head to the Persian Gulf aboard the USS Ponce as part of what the military is calling an "at-sea demonstration." "The future is here," Peter A. Morrision, program officer for ONR's Solid-State Laser Technology Maturation Program, said in a statement. "The solid-state laser is a big step forward to revolutionizing modern warfare with directed energy, just as gunpowder did in the era of knives and swords." Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder said one of the big deals here is that a laser shot costs about $1. "Compare that to the hundreds of thousands of dollars it costs to fire a missile, and you can begin to see the merits of this capability," Klunder said. Another big advantage: A laser moves at the speed of light and in the future it may be able to disable an incoming missile....[url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/04/08/176594482/u-s-will-deploy-solid-state-laser-weapon-on-ship-headed-to-persian-gulf?sc=tw]Read More[/url][/quote] All we need are freaking sharks with frickin laser beams!