The USS Ponce gets some Laser punch! As in a drone killing laser...

NextGov - This US Navy Ship Is Now Armed With a Drone-Killing Laser Beam

The U.S. Navy now has a ship in the Persian gulf armed with a “laser gun.” That’s how the U.S. chief of naval operations described it, in passing, to a congressional hearing back in March.

The Laser Weapons System, as it’s officially called, has been mounted on the USS Ponce, which is a kind of floating helicopter pad designed to transport marines and equipment for amphibious assaults....

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 Naval Technology.com - Laser quest: Phalanx, LaWs and the future of close-in weapon systems

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The US Navy is set to take CIWS technology into unchartered territory this summer when it sea-tests a revolutionary directed-energy laser weapon on board the USS Ponce in the Persian Gulf.

Scientists working under the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Quick Reaction Capability programme have proved that targets identified by a Phalanx CIWS can just as easily be tracked using the Laser Weapon System (LaWS). In 2011, an earlier version of the high-energy laser was used to defeat small boat threats from a destroyer and the following year LaWS downed multiple unmanned aircraft.

The system comprises a single laser weapon control console manned by a surface warfare weapons officer on board the USS Ponce, who can operate all functions of the laser and, if commanded, fire the weapon. Using a video-game-like controller, that sailor will be able to manage the laser's power to accomplish a range of effects against a threat, from disabling to complete destruction.

Experts believe that high-energy lasers now offer an affordable way to target asymmetric threats such as unmanned aircraft and small attack boats at the speed of light and with extreme precision.

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My son-in-law is current in the Persian Gulf area so got excited when I saw this and had to double check which ship he was on. Nope, this isn't his... :( But hey, it's still lasers being deployed for "real"... :)