Monday, April 07, 2014

Mirror, Mirror, Inbound

Is a laser weapon system really are trump card against massed missile attacks at sea?

This sounds great!

The inherent characteristics of laser weapons, speed of light engagement, precision targeting, rapid shot generation and tunability, offer the opportunity for expanded engagement options against a range of threats. These features can enhance the ability of naval units to defeat large raids and to counter short time-of-flight threats such as rockets, mortars and artillery shells. Equally important, laser weapons could bend the cost-exchange curve between offensive and defensive systems that appears at present to favor the former over the latter.

Until you remember that lasers bounce off of mirrors.



If I was in the anti-access/aerial denial business and faced laser anti-missile defenses, I'd make all my anti-ship missiles nice shiny polished mirror-skinned weapons.