According to AWST the Navy has completed a 10kw laser with the goal of developing a 100 kw laser in 4 years. This is part of thier future weapons systems for shipboard defence. The lases is a free electron type than can be tuned to different frequencies.

My question is how powerfull would that type of weapon be to tkae out cruise missiles like the Sunburn? How much range would that weapon like that have?

I always thought it was only a matter of time before this tech made its way to the large Navy ships. If these lasers are like that of the T.H.E.L.S it would have like a 200mile range I think.It would not have to be really that powerful just strong enough to cut through a thin skin of metal. Could be a great first line defense used with Gun systems like the Phalanx for anything that gets pass the laser.

The laser on the Ships might be the same as the ABL on the 747. The only thing about lasers now is that they take up some space but in a ship this I imagine should not be a problem especially for an Aircraft Carrier. To answer your question about the power of these lasers the ABL can burn through a 1inch carbon steel plate in about 2 sec.

Originally posted by WestPoint23
The laser on the Ships might be the same as the ABL on the 747. The only thing about lasers now is that they take up some space but in a ship this I imagine should not be a problem especially for an Aircraft Carrier. To answer your question about the power of these lasers the ABL can burn through a 1inch carbon steel plate in about 2 sec.

That will do the trick. The ABL laser is a chemical one and different that the navy's. Ill bet they don't want all those volitile chemicals onboard. Correct me if im wrong, but isint THALS solid state (something about diode pumped)

The 100kW solid state laser has a range of 10-15 km at sea level. It is very fast and accurate and it will have 15-20 secs of time against Sunburn misille at that range. The main disadvantage is weather - the performace could be significantly lower in bad weather so I think the lasers should be backed up with normal weapons (or maybe railguns?).

Originally posted by FredT


That will do the trick. The ABL laser is a chemical one and different that the navy's. Ill bet they don't want all those volitile chemicals onboard. Correct me if im wrong, but isint THALS solid state (something about diode pumped)

I think you are talking about THEL and it is chemical laser (smaller than ABL and using other chemicals).

That will do the trick. The ABL laser is a chemical one and different that the navy's. Ill bet they don't want all those volitile chemicals onboard. Correct me if im wrong, but isint THALS solid state (something about diode pumped)

No the ABL and THEL both are solid state lasers they just use a chemical reactor for power. People are getting it mixed up just cuz a laser is powered by a chemical reactor doesn't mean it is a chemical laser

And any cruise missile coming towards a ship would fly real low to the water to avoid detection, so if it a cloudy day oh well it wont affect the beam cuz the missile is only 50 feet high. But I think they still should be backed up with regular weapons just in case

I think that the USSR tried lasers as CIWS in the Kirov in the mid-1980s...

Solid state means every part of the laser is solid. In rod lasers that use a laser crystal, the crystal is solid but the flash/arc lamp is not solid state because it uses gasses and plasma arcs to pump the crystal. In a chemical laser, they use a hot jet of chemical gasses to set up the laser action inside a resonator. The only true solid state lasers are diode lasers (sort of like LEDs).