U.S. Navy tests Laser Weapon System to disable and destroy drone boats

Middle East, News, US December 17, 2021 , by IRIA No Comments

Drone boats deployed by the Houthi rebels are becoming an increasing threat for the coalition forces, especially for the U.S. Navy at the Gulf of Aden in the Middle East. With the aim of diminishing the threat from such bomb-laden drone boats, U.S. Navy carried out a test of laser weapons to destroy stationary floating targets.

The latest test was carried out on December 14 from the amphibious transport dock USS Portland that fired Laser Weapon System at the target in the Gulf of Aden, which separates East Africa from the Arabian Peninsula. During the demonstration, the Laser Weapons System Demonstrator (LWSD) Mark 2 successfully engaged a static surface training target.

The 5th Fleet of the U.S. Navy based in the Middle East reported that the test was carried out successfully and the laser weapon system was able to target and destroy the floating body with precision and persistence. U.S. Navy 5th Fleet’s area of operations includes the Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, and parts of the Indian Ocean. LWSD aboard USS Portland was first tested in May 2020 when it successfully disabled a small unmanned aerial system while operating in the Pacific Ocean.

The USS Portland, which has been tasked to deploy the Laser Weapon System in the Gulf of Aden, is a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock. The ship is deployed as part of the Essex Amphibious Ready Group that’s now stationed in the Mideast.

Although the test for the LWSD had been successful for UAVs and other remote-controlled flying objects, this was the first the time Laser Weapon System was subjected to disable and destroy a floating target.

*^{The U.S. Navy’s Laser Weapons System Demonstrator Mark 2 MOD 0 laser shot down a drone in testing. (Image Credit: U.S. Navy)}*

The Gulf of Aden sits along the southern coast of war-torn Yemen, which has been a battlefield between the Houthi rebels and the Saudi-led Coalition causing the death of an estimated 110,000 people and giving rise to one of the worst humanitarian crises of present times.

One of the tactics that are used by the Houthi Rebels in the Gulf of Aden is to deploy drone boats in the waters and control them remotely. Such boats are equipped with explosive material that can be detonated once it gets close to the target.

The Laser Weapons System is not only effective against destroying the done boats but also jams the signal receiver in order to cut the remote communication of the boats.