US Navy tests laser weapon in Gulf of Aden
The USS Portland fired the prototype laser at a floating training target, the Navy said in a statement.
The US Navy’s 5th Fleet announced on Wednesday it had successfully tested a weaponized laser in the Gulf of Aden.
The USS Portland fired the prototype and “successfully engaged” a floating training target, the Navy said in a statement.
The Portland previously used the laser to disable an unmanned aerial drone in the Pacific Ocean last year.
The prototype weapon, the Solid State Laser-Technology Maturation Laser Weapons System Demonstrator (LWSD), is the next-generation version of the Laser Weapon System (LaWS) that was previously tested by the USS Ponce in the Middle East, according to the Navy.
