DADvocate

"The targets came in over the ocean, and it was a good day for lasers, bad day for drones," says Mike Booen of Raytheon in Tucson. Lasers: 4, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV's): 0, was the score, and in pretty dramatic fashion too, if you see the video provided by the defense giant.

In a few seconds, six fiber-optic lasers with a combined 32 kilowatts of power fried up the drones in the tests. (A coffee-maker is about a one kilowatt appliance for comparison purposes, according to the Energy Department.) The range distance of the tests lasers is a Navy secret, but Defense Industry Daily in 2007 reported their reach would be three times farther than the 20-millimeter "Gatling" guns now mounted on Navy ships to defend against airborne threats.

# posted by DADvocate @ 2:49 PM