The U.S. Navy has successfully tested a high-energy laser gun mounted on a warship in what could be the first of several new laser weapons to come, it was reported.
The Navy released video of the laser test which shows a small craft being hit as it bobbed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California near San Nicholas Island, according to FoxNews.com
Several details of the test were classified but officials indicated the target was several miles away, FoxNews reported.
“This is very important to the Navy’s future weapon systems,” Rear Adm. Nevin Carr, chief of the Office of Naval Research, told the LA Times. “By turning energy into a weapon, we become more efficient and more effective.”
The laser, called the maritime laser demonstrator, was built by Northrop Grumman Corp. in Redondo Beach.
Officials said the device could be used as a defense against enemy cruise missiles and drones. The Navy could retrofit ships with the technology sometime in the future, according to the FoxNews.