Navy brass sees future battleship as catalyst to scale next-gen laser weaponry

[rangerrebew]

Navy brass sees future battleship as catalyst to scale next-gen laser weaponry
The U.S. military’s urgent need to counter cheap adversarial drones in multiple regions has heightened calls for directed energy weapons.
By
Brandi Vincent

February 18, 2026
 
SAN DIEGO — The Navy must embark on an aggressive push to integrate advanced lasers, high-power microwaves and other directed energy weapons across the fleet as part of its broader plan to counter intensifying and emerging drone and missile threats, according to two of the sea service’s top officials.

Largely due to technical, environmental, industrial and other complexities, Navy insiders have struggled for decades to make DE capabilities a shipboard reality at-scale.

More recently, the U.S. military’s urgent need to counter cheap, swarming adversarial drones in multiple regions has heightened calls for maritime, laser-enabled weaponry.

“The Navy has not, in my opinion, put the demand signal out there to go all-in on solving some of the technological challenges on shipboard laser utilization. You have to target the laser, and that typically takes optics, [which] typically don’t do well in high-mist, high-wave environments. But that’s an engineering problem,” Chief of Naval Operation Adm. Daryl Caudle said. “Lasers come in various form factors that can be chemically based, electrically based; there’s different sources that stimulate the coherent light. And that’s an engineering problem — that’s not a Navy problem.”

https://defensescoop.com/2026/02/18/navy-lasers-admiral-caudle-golden-fleet-battleship/

[MeganC]

The Retard Brigade will be along in a minute to remind everyone that "battleships" are obsolete even if the planned ships bear no resemblance to the Iowa class.

[Smokin Joe]

The Retard Brigade will be along in a minute to remind everyone that "battleships" are obsolete even if the planned ships bear no resemblance to the Iowa class.

What the Zumwalt Class was designed to have is incredible power generation capacity to run the rail guns, a device that worked, but the ammunition was prohibitively expensive. Still, that capacity remains, and it could feed batteries of lasers. This concept might ressurrect the class as a useful combatant.

(Maybe the guys at Dahlgren can use the rail gun to pick off turds coming down the Potomac from D.C.)

[AL]

Guess we'll have to wait and see just how effective these hi-tech battle wagons will be.  How about movable spaceships outfitted with laser weapons?   

[MeganC]

How about movable spaceships outfitted with laser weapons?   

I have exactly zero doubt that this has already been deployed or is being worked on by the United States Space Force. 

[Smokin Joe]

I have exactly zero doubt that this has already been deployed or is being worked on by the United States Space Force. 

The problem with directed energy weapons from space to the surface is that they have to cut through cloud cover.

OTOH, kinetic weapons ("Rods from God") don't have that problem.

Better yet, establish a moon base and throw rocks.

[DefiantMassRINO]

Why should the US Navy limit itself to the oceans?  Why not a super duper laser battleship in space?

[MeganC]

The problem with directed energy weapons from space to the surface is that they have to cut through cloud cover.

Space based laser weapons are primarily intended for attacking other objects in space.

[MeganC]

Why should the US Navy limit itself to the oceans?  Why not a super duper laser battleship in space?

Unlike Japan the US does not intend to raise a sunken battleship and then refit it into being a spaceship.

[Smokin Joe]

Space based laser weapons are primarily intended for attacking other objects in space.

Yep. I hope we have them, because I'd bet the Chinese do.

[Smokin Joe]

Space based laser weapons are primarily intended for attacking other objects in space.

Which is why one of the SDI systems included kinetic weapons. Mass, not explosives, would do the trick.

But space rocks have a proven track record of being effective against planets, hence, a mass driver on the lunar surface could get the job done.

[MeganC]

But space rocks have a proven track record of being effective against planets

Not too terribly off topic but you might appreciate this bit of sci-fi that builds on your idea...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGy04ZgeYvw


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4YlnDtJYCo

[Smokin Joe]

Not too terribly off topic but you might appreciate this bit of sci-fi that builds on your idea...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGy04ZgeYvw


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4YlnDtJYCo

One of the things I loved about The Expanse was that they got the physics right of space battles. Space ships were not flying like they were in atmosphere (finally!). Yes, they threw rocks, too. (But really, I was thinking of the effect of the Chicxulub impact on the dinosaurs and most everything else (Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary).

[BobfromWB]

Which is why one of the SDI systems included kinetic weapons. Mass, not explosives, would do the trick.

But space rocks have a proven track record of being effective against planets, hence, a mass driver on the lunar surface could get the job done.

That's one of the first orders of business in the construction of the Chinese Lunar South Pole colony.

[BobfromWB]

One of the things I loved about The Expanse was that they got the physics right of space battles. Space ships were not flying like they were in atmosphere (finally!). Yes, they threw rocks, too. (But really, I was thinking of the effect of the Chicxulub impact on the dinosaurs and most everything else (Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary).

Too bad that "The Expanse" only covered 3 of the 7 books.