When it comes to missile-killing lasers, the US Navy is ready to burn its ships
By: David B. Larter  
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Navy’s Director of Surface Warfare is ready to bet the farm on using lasers to shoot down missiles.
The outgoing head of the Chief of Naval Operations’ surface warfare directorate Rear Adm. Ron Boxall said the Navy is going to get its High Energy Laser and Integrated Optical-dazzler with Surveillance system on the Hawaii-based destroyer Preble in 2021, a moment that he compared with Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortez ordering his own ships scuttled to motivate his men.
“The key for us is HELOS: A shipboard laser that will take the place of what we have now,†Boxall said, referring to systems such as the Close-in Weapon System and Rolling Airframe Missile, in a May interview with Defense News.
https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2019/05/23/when-it-comes-to-missile-killing-lasers-the-us-navy-is-ready-to-burn-its-ships/
