US Navy Has Deployed Its First Laser Weapon On A Combat Mission To The Persian Gulf

The prototype weapon is an improved version of the Laser Weapon System (LaWS) pictured here aboard the USS Dewey in 2012. Source: John F. Williams/U.S. Navy

U.S. Navy Deploys Its First Laser Weapon in the Persian Gulf -- Bloomberg

The U.S. Navy has deployed on a command ship in the Persian Gulf its first laser weapon capable of destroying a target.

The amphibious transport ship USS Ponce has been patrolling with a prototype 30-kilowatt-class Laser Weapon System since late August, according to officials. The laser is mounted facing the bow, and can be fired in several modes -- from a dazzling warning flash to a destructive beam -- and can set a drone or small boat on fire.

The Ponce “provides a unique platform” to deploy the new capability “in an operationally relevant region,” Vice Admiral John Miller, the 5th Fleet commander, said in an e-mailed statement. The ship is the 5th Fleet’s primary command and control afloat staging base for operations

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Update #1: U.S. Navy Deploys Laser Weapon in Persian Gulf -- Washington Free Beacon
Update #2: US Navy deploys laser weapon to Persian Gulf for first-ever combat mission -- RT

My Comment: This was believed to be impossible only a decade or two ago .... and now it is a reality.