The US Navy successfully test-fired a new laser weapon onboard the USS Portland. This was during the first week May. During the Hawaii test of its new laser weapon system, the ship fired a beam on an unmanned aerial vehicle floating in the ocean. This was the Navy's first use of a laser weapon to destroy a ship. Northrop Grumman designed it to be used against unmanned aircraft and small craft. The laser is expected be more powerful than the one that was tested by the Navy on USS Ponce (AFSB (I)-15) seven-years ago.
The expected power of the laser system at Portland will be 150 kilowatts. This is five times greater than the 30-kilowatt laser tested by the Navy on USS Ponce. This is part of the Navy's efforts to upgrade the laser weapon systems that ships currently have. The laser is expected be able destroy or disable unmanned aerial vehicle, artillery, mortars and rockets. The US Navy has yet to determine the range of lasers on Portland.
USS Portland is an amphibious landing ship dock ship of San Antonio-class. She is part USS Essex Amphibious Ready Group. She will deploy to the U.S. 4th Fleet to participate in the Rim-of-the Pacific wargames. Portland will be the flagship of these multinational military drills. The ship will be joined by three other ships: USS Little Rock (an amphibious assault vessel); USS Pearl Harbor (an amphibious dock landing boat); and USS Essex (an amphibious assault vessel). All three ships will carry 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
Portland is expected to be the first ship in the United States to deploy an operational laser weapon system. This will help the United States defend against unmanned aerial vehicles and small boats. It will also serve to remind allies of America's naval superiority.
Officials from the US Navy claim that the new laser weapon is capable of protecting ships against small boats, mortars and rockets. It will also assist in countering Houthi rebels at the Red Sea. Since years, the Navy has been developing directed energy weapons. The Navy tests new technology regularly in the Arabian Peninsula. It also demonstrated robots in Persian Gulf and Gulf of Aden.
Northrop Grumman received the contract to design and test the laser weapon in 2015. The company is also a member the Essex Amphibious Ready Group. The company is working on the Solid State Laser - Technology Maturation (SSL-TM) Laser Weapon System Demonstrator, which is a high-energy laser weapon system. To create a stronger beam, the SSLTM uses multiple lasers at different wave lengths. SSL-TM has been successfully tested on land. This demonstration is believed to be the first step in developing a 150-kilowatt weapon laser.
The Navy also tested the laser system at USS Ponce, an interim forward-staging base in the Middle East, along with Portland. In October 2000, a small-sized suicide bomber attacked the ship from a boat. Two people died and 37 were injured during the attack. The attack also damaged the ship's engines.