Navy To Deploy Laser Weapon by Summer

The Navy plans to deploy a prototype laser weapon – dubbed Laser Weapon System (LaWS), on the amphibious transport dock Ponce sometime this summer. In the meantime, engineers at the Office of Naval Research are putting the finishing touches on the project, which would be able to knock out unmanned and light aircraft as well as small vessels that pose threats. The weapon demonstrated its potential during tests in 2011 and 2012, during which it was able to down several unmanned aircraft.