US
Navy officials are pinning their hopes on laser and directed-energy
weapons, claiming that lasers would even replace some existing missile
systems, providing a much higher rate of annihilation.
The
US Navy is considering the possibility to equip America's
next-generation aircraft carriers with powerful laser weapons, according
to US journalist Zachary Keck, who has interned at the Center for a New
American Security and the US Congress, where he worked on defense
issues.
Citing Rear Admiral Michael Manazir, Director of Air Warfare, the
journalist pointed out that the aircraft carrier is a perfect platform
for the installation of laser weaponry. Currently this weapon can be
used only for defensive purposes, but Rear Adm. Manazir believes that
as technology gets more sophisticated, the US carriers will be able
to boast new laser offensive technology.
By
placing direct energy weapons on aircraft carriers, the US Navy plans
to solve a number of problems traditional missile defense systems still
suffer from. First and foremost, offensive missiles are far cheaper
to manufacture and operate than the interceptors which are used
for defensive purposes.
On the other hand, aircraft carriers have limited space on board
for interceptors, since they should also carry offensive weapons.
However, it is expected that laser arms will solve both of these
problems.
"The USS Gerald Ford is able to generate 13,800
volts of electrical power, over three times as much as Nimitz-class
carriers, which can generate 4,160 volts of electricity," Keck
elaborated, adding that while some of this energy will be needed
to power the carrier's Electro-Magnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS),
the rest of it can be used by laser weaponry systems.
"The US Navy already operates a directed energy
weapon system; namely, the Laser Weapons System (LaWS), which is
onboard the USS Ponce. It is primarily intended to engage threats posed
by Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and small boats that could be
used to overwhelm US Navy ships in the Persian Gulf," Mr. Keck noted.
However,
directed-energy weapons still need further refinement, the journalist
stressed, quoting the Center for a New American Security report, which
stated that "few weapons have held as much promise — and have
consistently failed to live up to that promise — as directed-energy
weapons."
Megawatt-class anti-missile weapons remain a distant prospect for the
US Navy, which currently uses tactical lasers to shoot small boats and
low-cost drones. Still US military officials do not give up hope
for obtaining powerful directed-energy arms in the future. Believing
that at some points lasers will one day replace some existing missile
systems, they insist that lasers will be able to provide a much higher
rate of annihilation than traditional missile interceptors.
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