User:TheEpicYolo/sandbox

LOLOLOL

L.a.W.S.

Laser weapon system, or L.a.W.S., the U.S. Navy’s new laser gun, is a high-powered laser weapon that runs on 30 kilowatts of energy per shot. It can take down drones, small boats, and even incoming missiles. It is still only a prototype though. “Once it is fully developed it will be able to take down a destroyer,” says the U.S. Navy (Stanton). It is the most powerful laser the U.S. Navy has ever used. The gun is mounted on the U.S. Navy’s new destroyer, the USS PONCE, and is on a 360 degree mount. Next year the U.S. Navy will send it out to be used in battle. The U.S. Navy has developed different kinds of lasers, but the solid-state lasers are the best. Chemical lasers are powerful, but it is hard to make them into weapons. The free-electron lasers have a good deal of power, too. But, they are giant and take up too much space. The solid-state lasers don’t have as much power as the others. However, they are easier to make into weapons. This is why the solid-state laser is the best. In 2004, the U.S. Navy began the creation of L.a.W.S. so they could have a better way of destroying targets. Rail guns took a high amount of energy, missiles cost too much money, and tanks and planes were constantly getting demolished in battle (Associated Press). Plus, it cost a lot for bullets for other weapons. So that led the U.S. Navy to create the Navy Directed Energy Weapons Program Office. In that office, they worked on developing L.a.W.S. for ten years. Finally, last year the U.S. Navy took it out for a test. It successfully targeted, shot, and took down four drones in a maritime environment on San Nicolas Island, California, and five drones in a desert land environment at Naval Air Warfare Center in China Lake, California. These tests proved that L.a.W.S. is capable and effective in both environments (2007punky). L.a.W.S. is used to destroy enemy drones, planes, boats, and incoming missiles. Once L.a.W.S. is fully developed and working in battle, the Naval destroyer, the USS PONCE, will be practically invincible. When the weapon is being used, it will take down enemy drones and planes that are flying over the water. L.a.W.S. will also be used for drone controlling practice by the U.S. Navy. The L.a.W.S. targeting system targets and sends a beam of searing heat at the target. “The weapon can produce an infrared beam that can be tuned to high to destroy the target or low to warm and cripple the sensors of the target” (Wikipedia, 12 Mar.). The laser produced by L.a.W.S. is made by 6 different laser beams that are combined in free open space (Wired.com). Lasers like this one do a lot of damage and have a lot of power. “If a fraction of the laser energy is routed through a frequency-doubling crystal, an intense, visible beam can be projected to significant ranges to provide a clear warning that a potential target is about to be engaged unless an immediate change in behavior is observed. This feature also has utility for dazzling aircraft, surface vehicle, or submarine sensors” (Stanton). One problem with lasers is that they tend to lose their effectiveness if it's raining, if it's dusty, or if there's turbulence in the atmosphere. The U.S. Navy has found ways to use lasers in these conditions but their effectiveness is still reduced. “A light effect that L.a.W.S. can produce warns the pilot of a small water craft or at the controls of a UAV that they are being targeted by a laser and to turn away. If they don't, the laser's power can be boosted to destroy the approaching craft” (Martinez). L.a.W.S. runs on low energy and commercially available technology. By using very little energy it is far more efficient than rail guns or missiles. L.a.W.S. shots cost only a few dollars because of the low energy (Erwin). It also sends out a beam that travels at the speed of light. By moving that fast, once the laser locks on a target, the target can't dodge the beam. With an unlimited power source, L.a.W.S. can shoot an unlimited number of times. L.a.W.S. can take out big things this way with many shots. Also, it has the element of surprise because the beam is silent (Wikipedia, n.d.). these attributes make L.a.W.S. superior to other modern weapons. L.a.W.S. has many perfections but also some flaws. The U.S. Navy is working to fix these flaws. For example, L.a.W.S. doesn't work if it loses its power source although it has a backup power source that has power for five shots. It also doesn’t work if it’s raining, dusty, or there's turbulence in the atmosphere. Another problem is the beam isn’t visible, so it’s not possible to know if it actually shot its target if it shoots a low energy blast. If these problems are fixed, L.a.W.S. will be better equipped to operate well. L.a.W.S. was invented by the U.S. Navy Directed Energy Weapons Program Office. Some of their accomplishments include; conducting mission analyses, and performing industry surveys for components and subsystems. A prototype system was designed and constructed by them. They have performed laboratory-based tests of the prototype and checked system operations with a test at high power using UAV target drones. They were able to decrease the amount of money they spent on developing L.a.W.S. by using existing commercial technology like a 50-m telescope and high-performance IR sensors. Although some parts were newly invented, it still didn’t cost them more than $50,000. L.a.W.S. took ten years to make. The L.a.W.S. program has achieved a lot of accomplishments (Stanton). The testing of L.a.W.S. has taken place over many years. In 2009, L.a.W.S. was tested in a desert land environment against five drones in China Lake, California. L.a.W.S. located, tracked and shot down the drones at different ranges. In 2010, it was tested with four drones on San Nicolas Island, California. This test had the same results as the first one. It took six years to finish the L.a.W.S. testing. The testing of L.a.W.S. helped the developers find out what they should change. The U.S. Navy has developed an effective system. If all goes as planned, they will be able to send it out next year. They have gone through building, testing, and fixing L.a.W.S. They have done this for ten years. The U.S. Navy spent $40,000,000 developing L.a.W.S. Now the money they spent is well used. L.a.W.S. is probably the U.S. Navy's most advanced weapon system.