That is not what it’s job will be.
They’re not using this in leiu of regular ballistics, but in cases where regular ballistics aren’t enough. Blowing up missiles & RPGs, burning up drones programmed with evasive maneuvers, pinpoint shots, ones that would be near impossible without computer targeting (igniting an object in between people), or targeting firearms & heating them so the human targets must drop them.

As is said above, it does not seem to hold up against more conventional existing weapons, as a ship destroyer.

“Steve: I agree. It is also sick, stupid, evil and wrong. A waste of everyone’s talents. Look forward to the day when the construction of weapons is made a criminal act. Which it is.”

Sure. I’ll agree to that statement. Totally a criminal act. Just so you know. Everyone with a gun agrees, but they just want you to give up your ability to defend yourself first. THEN, they’ll drop their own weapons. Because as you know, humanity is so all about cooperation.

The day a country makes it illegal to develop measures of protecting itself will be the day that country ceases to be in power over its future. I hope that the things you hope for never come to fruition.

The best way to prevent a war is to start one.
Congratulate me, I started talking like a military person. Maybe I am under the influence of ’1984′ doublespeak

I personally do not think this is a waste of time or money. Computers were much the same way at first. Think of what these first lasers are in an historical context.

It’s not like we’re talking off topic, using profanity, or personal attacks; it’s a good clean debate. It’s not directly about the Somali pirates, but that’s essentially what provoked research on these types of weapons. Guess our opinions don’t matter as much as yours…

P.S. pedro and MT-LA; this isn’t your private discussion board. Take your arguments somewhere else.

If you were a captain of a commercial ship, then this laser tech would not be available to you and you would have to resort to whatever other means you would like to defend yourself.

My point: we really shouldn’t even be talking about pirates here because pirates don’t intentionally go up against Navy warships. This is military tech meant to defend against military threats. And yes…pirates would become military threats as soon as they showed any aggression against a Navy vessel. One day it might be available to civilians, but that’s probably a long way off. Also…I’ve officially reached my limit on how much I can talk about pirates without Disney somehow coming down on me.

Furthermore, you can always fire warning shots along their path as a deterrent without having to open lethal fire. In this case, ammo and modern weapons are very effective, but “PC” restricts their use, thus provoking research on alternative weapons. It’s the same mentality used to fight against the death penalty for the most heinous crimes and working to fight against gun ownership. There’s good people and bad people, not all humans are equally worthy of our respect.

If someone was to torture defenseless animals, would you respect them? Would you still respect these pirates if they came after you and your family? Killed a family member? Would you not shoot to kill if someone was trying to kill or kidnap you? It’s you or them, and they don’t care about you.

@DA (#5) – No mirror has 100% reflection. Any energy that is not reflected is, therefore, absorbed. I’m willing to bet that any mirror you put in front of such a high intensity laser would quickly become un-mirror like. A defender would need a way to channel a LOT of heat away from the surface of the mirror.

@SK (#7) – This was (most likely) not the first test. The Navy probably did do multiple tests on much cheaper targets to prove the concept. This was a proof in real world conditions against something that accurately represents the “threat”. Hypothetical: suppose they went all the way through R&D, production, and started fielding this weapon system *without* testing it on an actual outboard motor. Wouldn’t you call that kind of irresponsible?

@Markus(#11) – A .50 cal would not have achieved this faster. We’re talking speed of light, with the ability to redirect (point) the beam at a moving target. But perhaps you mean that the laser was shining on the motor for a while before it caught fire, and therefore a single shot of a .50 cal would do the same thing in a fraction of the time…if you could hit the motor with a .50 cal. Do you notice how the boat is bobbing in the water? I believe the top-notch snipers have already proven that they can hit a target under these conditions, but having a sniper on every boat that needs to defend itself isn’t realistic. Furthermore, this technology would likely be used to defend against ballistics and surface threats. I doubt very much that a sniper could hit a ballistic…the Phalanx system has already been battle-proven to hit ballistics, so we have the tracking and aiming tech in place.

@pedro(#12): the idea is to have multiple zones of engagement. You start with deterrence (low power laser, directed at the “pirates” or whatever your fantasy). You move up to disable (high-power laser aimed at the motors or other systems to disable the target). Finally, if that doesn’t work, then you can engage in your little shoot-em-up. It’s not being PC…it’s being respectful of human life until you have no other option.

Embarrassing Nonsense!