Graham Kennedy wrote: All we really know about this thing is that it can make a small black box of explosives blow up when fired at it for an undetermined amount of time. But how does it do when it's fired at the non-explosive side of a even a small boat, though, let alone a steel warship?
Mikey wrote: is it any more useful than a conventional weapon? Is it a) more effective, or b) as effective but with less cost-per-shot or man-hours required for operation a/o maintenance? If it is simply as effective as a conventional weapon in the same role, but with no savings in operation, maintenance, or somesuch, than the whole thing is simply an expensive jerk-off session for some Navy brass-hole.
I really doubt this is meant to act as an anti ship weapon. Even if one could bore through the steel hull of a ship with a shipborn laser (which I don't think we're anywhere close to ), the horizon line would still limit your range far below aircraft and missiles.Coalition wrote:I'd like to know the cost difference between the laser and the gun it is replacing, to see how many shots are needed to break even. The other stunt would be seeing how much maintenance is needed on the laser, so we can price out the salaries of people needed to maintain the laser vs the gun (I'll bet that lens needs a lot of cleaning). Even worse is if it uses its own chemicals to power the laser, so it still has a form of ammunition.
While perhaps there could be the occasional impressive rescue from Somalian pirates where you vaporize the head of the guy holding the hostage from some ridiculous distance, I think the ultimate use will be in an anti aircraft/drone/missile role.
We have CIWS type defenses. However cost per shot isn't so meaningful when you fire one burst and either the aircraft carrier heads to the bottom or it doesn't. But more to the point I keep hearing that against modern anti-ship missiles there isn't much confidence in CIWS or even rolling airframe missiles. With its nearly instantaneous speed a laser might have the ability to pull it off. You don't even have to do that much damage to the incoming missile if you can affect the flight surface or the guidance system, so long as you do it while its still far enough out inertia won't carry it the rest of the way in.
We clearly aren't there yet. But perhaps they're getting close.
