美해군, 레이저무기 시험 첫 공개 US Laser Weapon Tests in Persian Gulf Are 'Warning Signal to Iran' (VIDEO)

US Laser Weapon Tests in Persian Gulf Are 'Warning Signal to Iran' 

The US Navy has tested the Laser Weapons System (LaWS) in the Persian Gulf. Sputnik discussed the issue with a Moscow-based military expert.

source PressTV

edited by kcontents

"빛의 속도로 소리없이 명중"

  미국 해군이 세계 최초로 실전 배치된 레이저무기 시험발사 장면을 공개했다고 CNN 방송이 17일(현지시간) 보도했다. 

공개 대상은 미 해군 상륙 수송함 USS 폰스에 배치된 레이저무기체계(LaWS)다. 

CNN이 단독 취재한 이번 시험에서 해군은 목표물인 무인기(드론)를 날리고 LaWS를 조준해 이 무인기를 명중시켰다. 

레이저무기에 타격된 무인기는 수천 도의 고온으로 가열돼 날개에서 섬광을 뿜으며 바다로 추락했다고 이 방송은 전했다.

CNN에 따르면 LaWS는 빛의 속도로 이동하며 아무런 소리도 내지 않는다. 재래식 무기와 비교하면 차세대 대륙간탄도미사일(ICBM) 속도의 5천 배에 해당한다. 

미 해군 케일 휴스 중위는 CNN에 "이 무기는 전자기 스펙트럼의 보이지 않는 여역에서 작동해 육안으로 빔을 볼 수 없다. 어떤 소리도 내지 않으며 믿을 수 없을 정도로 효율적이다"라고 말했다. 

빛의 속도로 날아가는 만큼 목표물을 명중시키기 위해 복잡한 과정이 필요하지 않다. 

LaWS 운용을 책임지는 크리스토퍼 웰스 대위는 "총알보다 더 정확하다"며 "타깃을 유도할 필요가 없다.

보고 조준하면 우리는 타깃을 무력화할 수 있다"고 자랑했다. 

목표물에서 빗나갈 경우 민간인 등에 대한 부수적 피해를 염려할 필요가 없고, 전기 공급만 있으면 손쉽게 운용할 수 있다는 것도 장점으로 꼽힌다. 레이저무기 한 발을 쏘는 데에는 단돈 1 달러(약 1천123 원)만 든다. 

이번에 배치된 LaWS는 항공기와 소형 선박을 파괴하거나 무력화하려는 용도로 개발됐으며, 미 해군은 미사일을 격추할 수 있는 2세대 시스템을 개발 중이다. 

(서울=연합뉴스) 강건택 기자  firstcircle@yna.co.kr 

황기철 콘페이퍼 에디터

Ki Chul Hwang, conpaper editor

According to the CNN report, the LaWS system, deployed on board the USS Ponce transport ship, is capable of hitting its targets at the speed of light and 50,000 times faster than an intercontinental ballistic missile.

"It is more precise than a bullet… It's not a niche weapon system like some other weapons that we have throughout the military. This is a very versatile weapon, it can be used against a variety of targets," Christopher Wells, the ship captain, told CNN.

LaWs was tested on a drone which fell into the sea after being hit by the laser beam. The Navy said that LaWS operates within an invisible part of the electromagnetic spectrum and is absolutely silent.

In Moscow, military expert Boris Rozhin said that the US has been developing laser weapons since the times of Cold War.

source kazinform.kz

edited by kcontents

“After the Soviet breakup some of the Soviet-designed technology and specialists surfaced in the United States apparently giving a boost to the US program which has made certain headway with laser weapons mounted on sea, land-based and airborne carriers,” Rozhin said.

He noted that even though full-scale deployment of such weapons in the armed forces was still way off, working prototypes could eventually be supplied to the US Navy or the Air Force.

“The test was also a sort of a warning signal to Iran which is perceived by America’s allies in the region as a security threat. Such teats are meant to show America’s technological edge over Iran’s missile and future weapons capability,” Boris Rozhin observed. 

According to CNN, the LaWS was designed to destroy airborne targets and small boats.

The system has been in test and development mode aboard on USS Ponce since August 2014.

Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder, chief of naval research, then said that it was the first case of directed energy weapons use in an operational environment.

When interviewed by Radio Sputnik, Alexei Leonkov, a military expert and commercial director of Arsenal Otechestva (Arsenal of the Motherland) journal, said that laser weapons have some very serious limitations.

“What they demonstrated in the Persian Gulf was shooting down a drone made of plastic. At a certain distance a laser beam can be effective against plastic surfaces. The laser was fired from a ship because it needs a powerful, 350-450 kilowatt source of energy, which is bulky, that’s why it is installed on ships. The longer the distance to target, the weaker the laser beam becomes, and at long distances it becomes useless altogether,” Leonkov said.

He added that when used against one-off non-metallic targets, the laser does the job, but it is absolutely useless against multiple targets.  It is also useless against armored targets. The only thing it is effective against optical and electronic gear, which it can “blind” and send off target.

“This kind of weapon does not change the existing balance of forces, but it creates a great deal of impression on potential investors,” Leonkov noted.

Sputnik