The US Navy has made another major breakthrough with laser guns that in theory could be used to defend Taiwan from attack and invasion.
For the first time, a solid-state high-energy laser has been used at sea to destroy a small boat moving through turbulent waters.
The laser beam — about as wide as a baseball — skimmed the waves for several kilometers before hitting the empty target craft and setting its engines on fire.
Military sources in Washington have told the Taipei Times that this new laser weapon could be used as a powerful defense and deterrent against the fleet of stealth missile boats now being built by China.
These fast attack craft — they are 42.6m long, displace 204 tonnes and have a top speed of 38 knots — would play a key role in any future attack on Taiwan.
Referring to the boats, one analysis says: “The real potential of this new design would be its use in coordination with [China’s] diesel subs and, possibly, theater ballistic missiles with precision guidance. A combination like that could enable the Chinese to deny the US Navy the ability to safely move in some vital areas, such as the waters surrounding Taiwan.”
Just three months ago, the US Office of Naval Research issued a statement saying that scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, had perfected a way to generate megawatt laser beams. When developed into a weapon, these beams could shoot down large numbers of incoming missiles at low cost and long before they reached their targets.
Such a weapon could also be invaluable for the defense of Taiwan.
However, until now, no one has been able to use lasers against ocean targets because the moist sea air can reduce a beam’s power and in effect neutralize it.
On April 6, the USS Paul Foster, a decommissioned destroyer, was retrofitted with Northrop Grumman’s 15 kilowatt solid-state high-energy laser (HEL) prototype.
The laser creates a high-energy burst of light by running electrons through specially designed pieces of glass or crystals. The beam shot from the destroyer to an unmanned small craft in the test maintained full power.
“This is the first time an HEL, at these power levels, has been put on a navy ship, powered from that ship and used to defeat a target at range in a maritime environment.” Peter Morrison, program officer for the US Office of Naval Research, said:
The Los Angeles Times quoted US Navy officials as saying the successful test “could mark a new era in Naval weaponry.”
The newspaper said: “For the first time in its history, the US Navy fired a laser ray gun mounted on a warship, zapping — and setting fire to — an empty motorboat as it bobbed in the Pacific Ocean.”
“Hats off to the US Navy because that is very, very impressive. It was pitching and rolling and yet they got this very fine beam to focus,” Graeme Gibbon-Brooks, the head of Dryad Maritime Intelligence, said.
“That they managed to keep the energy in one place is remarkable. It’s a very, very interesting moment for naval warfare in that we have a whole new genre of weapons. It could be used in any type of naval warfare,” he said.
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