US Navy fires laser weapon in Mideast amid drone boat threat
By Jon Gambrell | AP
Today at 6:17 a.m. EST
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The U.S. Navy announced Wednesday it tested a laser weapon and destroyed a floating target in the Mideast, a system that could be used to counter bomb-laden drone boats deployed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
The test Tuesday saw the USS Portland test-fire its Laser Weapon System Demonstrator at the target in the Gulf of Aden, the body of water separating East Africa from the Arabian Peninsula.
The Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet described the laser as having “successfully engaged” the target in a statement. Previously, the Portland used the laser to bring down a flying drone in May 2020.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-navy-fires-laser-weapon-in-mideast-amid-drone-boat-threat/2021/12/15/b6b75598-5d94-11ec-b1ef-cb78be717f0e_story.html
