WASHINGTON - The US Navy has successfully installed its first Optical Dazzling Interdictor, Navy (ODIN) laser weapon aboard one of its warships. During dry-dock operations, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey (DDG 105) received the stand-alone laser system, which is designed to blind the sensors on Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), reports David Szondy for NewAtlas.com. Continue reading original article.
The Intelligent Aerospace take:
February 25, 2020 -The USS Dewey has been used to test cutting-edge capabilities, like the temporarily installed Laser Weapon System (LaWS) and the firing of Hyper-Velocity Projectiles.
The installation looks most like renderings of the Lockheed Martin High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance (HELIOS) laser weapon system, which is set to be installed in that position on a Burke-class destroyer for its initial fielding.
The Ruggedized High Energy Laser (RHEL), a similar effort, also is in the works. The Navy has three other shipboard laser prototype programs underway beyond these two as part of its Navy Laser Family of Systems (NLFoS) initiative and its periphery programs.
Related: Raytheon delivers first laser counter-UAS System to USAF
Related: Army chooses SRC for counter-drone systems to destroy or disable enemy unmanned aircraft
Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Intelligent Aerospace
