A Drone-Killing, Directed Laser Weapon Prototype is Now in the Hands of U.S. Marines

By TOC On Jun 20, 2019

WASHINGTON, (BM) – The U.S. Marine Corps is testing a prototype laser weapon that could be used by war fighters on the ground to counter enemy drones, learned BularianMilitary.com, according U.S. Marines statement.

The Compact Laser Weapons System – or CLaWS – is the first ground-based laser approved by the Department of Defense for use by warfighters on the ground.

“This was all in response to a need for counter unmanned aerial systems to take down drones,” said Don Kelley, program manager for Ground Based Air Defense at Program Executive Officer Land Systems. “We developed a CLaWS prototype for Marines to use and evaluate.”

In recent years, the Defense department has assessed directed energy weapons – more commonly known as “lasers” – as an affordable alternative to traditional firepower to keep enemy drones from tracking and targeting Marines on the ground.

CLaWS is not intended to be a standalone system for Marines to use to counter enemy drones. Rather, if the prototype continues to do well in the current research and development phase, it will serve as a component to an overall system used to counter drones.

“We’re providing CLaWS to Marines as a rapid prototype for evaluation,” Kelley said. “Depending on the results, CLaWS could become part of a larger capability set.”

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BulgarianMilitary.com
Editorial team
Source: U.S. Marines