The UXV Combatant: Drones launch from the UXV’s next-gen flight deck—and heavy firepower provides cover Nick Kaloterakis / PopSciBoeing: Raygun Dreadnoughts Will Rule The Oceans By 2019 -- The Register
Missiles, laser sharks simply nowhere
US aerospace mammoth Boeing has made a bold announcement, saying that it will "transform naval warfare in the next decade" by developing powerful warship raygun turrets able to blast enemy missiles and aircraft out of the sky from afar.
The arms globocorp said yesterday that it has been awarded an initial $6.9m contract in a deal potentially worth as much as $169m, to develop a prototype Free Electron Laser (FEL) beam cannon.
Boeing say that this will provide an "ultra-precise, speed-of-light capability and unlimited magazine depth to defend ships against new, challenging threats, such as hyper-velocity cruise missiles", and that "FELs are capable of achieving the megawatt power the Navy requires for ship defense".
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My Comment: So much for missile defense being put on the back burner. This article's look at the future is probably right .... but we are probably decades away from such a weapon system being deployed.