US laser to target Somali pirates (Video)
The US Navy is testing new laser technology against pirates in the Indian Ocean. Here a Somali coast guard returns from a patrol off the coast of Somalia’s breakaway Republic of Somaliland on March 30, 2011.
United States Navy researchers have test-fired a laser that could be used to disable Somali pirate skiffs aiding the battle against the ever-growing threat of piracy in the Indian Ocean.
The Arlington-based Office of Naval Research announced the successful test-firing of “a solid state, high-energy laser from a surface ship which disabled a small target vessel.”
More than 800,000 people have watched footage, posted on YouTube, that shows an outboard motor bursting into flames when targeted by the laser beam.
The test of the Maritime Laser Demonstrator “proves the ability to use a scalable laser to thwart small vessels at range,” according to Rear Admiral Nevin Carr, chief of naval research.
One useful application of the laser beam could be the fight against Somali piracy, reports the Associated Press.
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