Oh My God, the Marines Have a Laser Now

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Technology, Americas

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Oh My God, the Marines Have a Laser Now

Wow 

Brace yourselves: Marine grunts now have their hands on a drone-killing laser cannon.

Marines are currently evaluating a Compact Laser Weapons System (CLaWS) as “the first ground-based laser approved by the Department of Defense for use by warfighters on the ground,” Marine Corps Systems Command announced on Wednesday.

Unlike the Army’s vehicle-mounted directed energy system, the CLaWS is “not intended to be a standalone system,” according to MARCORSYSCOM, but the prototype will “serve as a component to an overall system” designed for counter-drone operations downrange.

“This was all in response to a need for counter unmanned aerial systems to take down drones,” Ground Based Air Defense (GBAD) program manager Don Kelley said in the MARCORSYSCOM release. “We’re providing CLaWS to Marines as a rapid prototype for evaluation … Depending on the results, CLaWS could become part of a larger capability set.”

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