A battleship or aircraft carrier with laser guns? This sounds right out of a science fiction movie, but that age of naval warfare could very well happen in just a couple of years’ time if the Navy has their way. Basically, the US Navy’s plan for “directed energy” (their slang for laser cannons) is said to be two years away from reality, at least according to Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder, the chief of the Office of Naval Research. This is definitely a huge step forward, considering how earlier estimates from Klunder’s laser technicians point towards a four year time window.
Klunder continued, “We’re well past physics. We’re just going through the integration efforts,” Klunder continued. Hopefully, that tells you we’re well mature, and we’re ready to put these on naval ships.”
The whole thing that remains would be whether the naval vessel’s power requirements will be able to integrated the directed energy system or railgun system, and the US Navy will remain on the cutting edge of the world’s naval powers. Something tells me that burning coal is not going to make the cut, and nuclear power will have a very strong say in the scheme of things.
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