US Navy Lasers

All this is about building high powered lasers quite able to chew into an artillary shell or a missle.  What is never mentioned is what was done first and that is a much smaller microwave laser able to cook off a plant stalk at its base.

This weapon system operated by computer firing produced the so called CROP CIRCLE images beganing around 1980.  complexity literally tracked tech improvement.  I believe it was applied during the first gulf War to scour out the trench lines producing over 100,000 Iraqi casulties and almost no casulties for the USA.  Otherwise impossible.

We are now able to actually knock out heavies in the air at range.  So the real problem will remain with prodiucing enough power.  One shot is not good enough when you are up against multiple heavy threats.  Yet here we are fifty years on and powe4r solutions are surely coming.

US Navy Lasers

February 4, 2025 by Brian Wang

In 2014, the US Navy installed its first prototype SSL (solid state laser) capable of countering surface craft and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on a Navy ship. The Navy since then has been developing and installing additional SSL prototypes with improved capability for countering surface craft and UAVs. Higher-power SSLs being developed by the Navy could have a capability for countering anti-

Current Navy efforts to develop SSLs include

the Solid State Laser Technology Maturation (SSL-TM) effort

the Optical Dazzling Interdictor, Navy (ODIN);

the Surface Navy Laser Weapon System (SNLWS) Increment 1, also known as the high-energy laser with integrated optical dazzler and surveillance (HELIOS); 

and the High Energy Laser Counter-ASCM Program (HELCAP)

Optical Dazzler Interdictor Navy (ODIN) systems have been installed on eight Arleigh Burke(DDG-51) class destroyers. The first ODIN installation reportedly was done on the destroyer Dewey (DDG-105) in 2019.

The ODIN system is a laser weapon system that allows a ship to counter unmanned aerial (drones) systems.

SNLWS Increment 1 is called HELIOS, an acronym meaning high-energy laser with integrated optical dazzler and surveillance. The HELIOS effort is focused on rapid development and rapid fielding of a 60 kW-class high-energy laser (with growth potential to 150 kW) and dazzler in an integrated weapon system, for use in countering UAVs, small boats, and ISR sensors, and for combat identification and battle damage assessment.

HELIOS began land-based testing in 2021 and was installed on destroyer USS Preble (DDG-88) in December 2021.

300+ Kilowatt HELCAP Laser

The Navy’s FY2025 budget submission states that the High Energy Laser Counter-ASCM Program (HELCAP).

The HELCAP is an initiative that provides a flexible prototype system for government experimentation and demonstration of a high-energy laser system capable of defeating an anti-ship cruise missile. Key elements of the prototype system include the beam control testbed, 300 kW+ class laser source, prototype control system, and auxiliary prime power and cooling. The industry provider of the beam control testbed (developed under PE0603801N) was selected through a competitive process and is being designed to accept technology insertion from other industry providers. The 300+ kW class laser source willbe acquired by selecting one of the laser sources being developed under an Office of Secretary of Defense (OSD) laser scaling initiative and adapting it for transport and interface with the other elements of the prototype system. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren (NSWCDD) will design and fabricate the control system and auxiliary prime power and cooling systems.

An additional Navy laser development effort is called the Layered Laser Defense (LLD) system.