Navy Laser Downs Test Drone

The future is here, as a test of a laser system developed for the Navy shot down a drone on July 17, 2010:

A Raytheon-U.S. Navy team used a high power, solid-state laser combined with a Phalanx Close-in Weapon System to shoot down four UAVs off San Nicolas Island near California. Powered by electricity, the system offers an affordable and almost infinite magazine to stop incoming threats. Once development is completed, the Laser Area Weapon System will give the warfighter a speed-of-light solution for defeating rockets, mortars, UAVs and other targets.

Raytheon intends to be a major player in the U.S. Army’s Common Infrared Countermeasures competition. Raytheon Missile Systems has developed a CIRCM solution, known as Scorpion that will feature the company’s production-matured directed infrared countermeasures turret and a rugged quantum cascade laser (QCL). Scorpion will be a light-weight, low-cost, highly reliable, laser-based infrared countermeasures solution against current and future IR guided threat missiles.  Link

Here’s the video: