The future is here!

The Office of Naval Research reported Wednesday that its laser weapons system, given the acronym LaWS, had performed flawlessly in tests aboard the amphibious transport dock USS Ponce in the Arabian Gulf from September to November. "Laser weapons are powerful, affordable and will play a vital role in the future of naval combat operations," Rear Adm. Matthew L. Klunder, chief of naval research, said in a statement. "We ran this particular weapon, a prototype, through some extremely tough paces, and it locked on and destroyed the targets we designated with near-instantaneous lethality." Klunder said the laser performed so well that the commander of the Ponce is now able to use it in defense of the vessel. The laser could be used to stop threats ranging from drones and helicopters to small patrol boats. The laser weapon is safer than conventional arms that use propellants and explosive warheads, and more cost-effective. At less than a dollar per shot it is cheaper than some hunting rifle rounds. The laser also takes fewer crew members to operate. It can be fired by one sailor using a video game-like controller. The Navy hopes to deploy variations of the laser weapon system in the fleet by 2020. I think this is a great innovation to make ocean combat safer and to ensure that fewer americans will lose lives. I also think it is very cool that it seems like a ship is catching fire out of nowhere due to the fact that there is no visible laser beam.