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A jaw-dropping new photo shows the US Navy firing off a drone-destroying laser weapon — dubbed “Helios” — from one of its warship.
The undated image, which was published in the US Center for Countermeasures’ annual report this month, captured the warfighting laser technology being shot from the USS Preble destroyer in the middle of the ocean.
The demo was “to verify and validate the functionality, performance, and capability of the HEL with Integrated Optical Dazzler and Surveillance system against an unmanned aerial vehicle target,” the report stated.
The report stopped short of providing specific details about the test — including where, or when, the laser weapon was fired.
The Helios weapon, which uses a 60 kW high-energy laser that can engage targets at the speed of light, is an advanced directed energy system developed for the US by Lockheed Martin.
It obliterates targets — including drones, fast-attack craft and missiles — by melting or overheating them.
In addition to being used as a destructive laser, the weapon can also act as an optical dazzler in a bid to disrupt intelligence and reconnaissance sensors.
The United Kingdom successfully tested its own high-powered laser weapon — dubbed DragonFire — against aerial targets last year.
Incredible Images from that test, too, showed the laser shooting down a target in a fiery ball.
Read the full article here