The United States Navy has demonstrated a new laser weapon operating in the Persian Gulf. The Laser Weapons System, or LaWS, is deployed on the USS Ponce transport ship. A live test firing of the weapon was recently carried out for Cable News Network (CNN). In the latest test, a drone aircraft was launched from the ship and then shot down by the laser. Lieutenant Cale Hughes is a laser weapons expert on the USS Ponce. He told CNN that because the weapon operates at the speed of light, it can immediately hit and destroy a target. This is about 50,000 times faster than an incoming intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM. “We don't worry about wind, we don't worry about range, we don't worry about anything else,” Hughes said. “We're able to engage the targets at the speed of light.” The technology is also called “directed energy.” The laser contains large amounts of photons that shoot intense energy. It destroys its targets with fire and heat thousands of degrees in temperature. The system is powered by electricity. It costs much less to build and operate than other weapons. The Navy said the cost of a single laser shot is about one dollar.
