One of the big problems that in recent times has been facing the United States Navy It has been the urgent need to repel any type of attack perpetrated on the battlefield in which certain rebels are beginning to use drones modified in a very spartan way to be able to turn them into true aerial bombs.
Unfortunately, as has been proven, the problem with having to shoot down this type of drone is that armies need a lot of ammunition and fire to get one of these aircraft down, which can put them in serious danger if, instead of several units, several dozen drones attack the same base at the same time.
The United States Navy is already working on a 100 kW laser prototype
With this in mind, it is not surprising that the engineers of the United States Navy have set to work in the development of a new way with which to shoot down these types of weapons and it seems that the solution is to develop a laser weapon capable of knocking them down. After its usefulness has been proven, work is now being done to increase its power so that it is capable of shooting down airplanes.
If we look at the latest statements made by James dickenson, commander of the Navy's missile and space defense division, his engineers are reportedly already working on developing a laser up to 100 kW, we are talking about a weapon that, compared to current prototypes, is about 10 times more powerful, enough to shoot down enemy drones, planes and even missiles.
At the moment the truth is that we are only talking about a new prototype that is beginning to be tested by the United States Navy, although field tests with prototypes of up to 50 kW are expected to begin in mid-2018 while the first units about vehicles such as the HEL-MTT while, the 100 kW version will begin to be tested in 2022.