HII-built Portland downs drone w/ laser

The HII-Pascagoula, Miss.-built amphibious warship USS Portland (LPD-27) shot down a drone with a laser weapon May 16 during a first-of-its-kind at-sea test of the Navy’s high-energy laser weapon system. The Navy is currently developing and testing a portfolio of laser weapons, some of which are more and less powerful, that could be fielded on a greater variety of ships, including the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. Portland fired its high-power laser weapon at an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) while operating off Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, according to a U.S. Pacific Fleet news release on May 22. “By conducting advanced at-sea tests against UAVs and small crafts, we will gain valuable information on the capabilities of the Solid State Laser Weapons System demonstrator against potential threats,” Portland commander, Capt. Karrey Sanders, was quoted in the release. The Solid State Laser Weapons System demonstrator is a “unique capability” Portland gets to test and operate, he continued, “while paving the way for future weapons systems” and a “redefining (of) war at sea for the Navy.” Portland was tapped in 2018 to be the first ship to test the Solid State Laser – Technology Maturation (SSL-TM) Laser Weapon System Demonstrator (LWSD) MK 2 MOD 0 at sea. This second iteration is expected to become a 150-kw weapon. The Navy is also working on a less powerful laser weapon, the High Energy Laser and Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance (HELIOS), which is planned to reach 60 kw; and an Optical Dazzling Interdictor Navy (ODIN) laser that would not be used to knock down incoming threats, but rather as a non-lethal option to warn enemies away from a warship (Source: UNSI News 05/22/20) https://news.usni.org/2020/05/22/video-uss-portland-fires-laser-weapon-downs-drone-in-first-at-sea-test