POWIP Piece of Work In Progress

Navy Laser successfully splashes test drone

Splash one!

In a demonstration of the technology which they currently hope to augment, and ultimately replace, the 20 mm gatling gun that is at the heart of the Phalanx CIWS (Close In Weapon System). An outstanding defensive system originally designed to defeat incoming missile threats, and upgraded in recent years to counter small craft and other littoral warfare threats as well, which is sometimes jokingly referred to as R2-D2 because of it's appearance and autonomous operation, CIWS will certainly be even more awesome after integrating the laser. Raytheon has provided a very cool video of the test at the linked site. And for more information on the Phalanx gun, click here.

Rocketman