USS Ponce: Watch The U.S. Navy Blow Things Up With Successful Laser Weapon Test

The United States Navy is really getting things going in a high-tech direction and they’re not fooling around. A new laser weapon is mounted on the USS Ponce and it’s been operational for months in the Persian Gulf, but now tests are being released online and they’re incredibly awesome.

According to Time, the U.S. Military finally revealed that the laser weapon they’ve been talking about for years is real and it works very well.

A video was posted on YouTube by the U.S. Navy, and it shows the laser gun mounted right underneath an American flag blowing in the wind. Some target boats are sent out into the Persian Gulf waters and don’t end up doing so well against the latest in advanced technological weaponry.

The Office of Naval Research’s Laser Weapon System (LaWS) close-in weapon system has gone far above any expectations that the Navy originally had. It is not only reliable and capable of defense, but it’s fully loaded into the defenses of the USS Ponce.

The Washington Post says that the laser weapon was officially installed on the USS Ponce over the summer and just deployed to the Persian Gulf in the fall.

Rear Adm. Matthew L. Klunder, the chief of naval research for the Navy, knows the strength and power that they have in their hands.

“It’s almost like a Hubble telescope at sea. Literally, we’re able to get that kind of power and magnification.”

Watching the video (shown above), no laser beam can be seen at all, but the target boat out in the water ends up bursting into flames and becoming totally unusable. The range of the test for the laser weapon on the USS Ponce was undisclosed, but it seems to be a good distance judging by the view of the camera.

The LaWS is a 30-kilowatt gun and in its short time of deployment so far, it has been able to withstand a 35 mph sandstorm and continue working immediately.

For those that believe the laser gun is too expensive and a waste of money, well, you’ll be surprised.

Each shot costs the military a mere 59 cents. When comparing it to the other forms of ammunition that could be used aboard the USS Ponce, this amount is far less than what money could be spent. There are even generators on the ship to both power and cool off the weapon.

The adjustable laser gun aboard the USS Ponce is just the beginning of the new technology that will be coming to the U.S. military. It’s advanced, powerful, and reliable. The Navy also knows that people like seeing things blow up with lasers — so why not throw it online?

[Image via U.S. Navy]