USS Portland US Navy begins testing tactical laser module

This week, the US LPD-27 USS Portland dock transport ship left the military base in San Diego and went into the open sea to conduct combat tests weapons. If it was initially reported that this ship would be equipped with two Mk44 Bushmaster II gun mounts, two Mk 41 rocket launchers and M2 Browning machine gun mounts, it now appears that the USS Portland has more modern weapons.

According to recent reports, a new American warship began to test on-board laser weapons. If you believe the reports of the American media, then on board the USS Portland is a combat laser system with a generation capacity of about 150 kW. It is assumed that such power is enough to destroy a laser beam, for example, boats, ships and small displacement vessels, as well as some air targets, including unmanned aerial vehicles.

Laser weapons have a nomenclature designation TLM, which stands for "tactical laser module." Initially, the landing ship LPD-27 with a displacement of 25 300 t did not have such weapons.

It is assumed that after the installation of TLM, along with power supply installations on board the ship, its internal space for accommodating troops and military equipment was slightly reduced. Initially, the main task of this ship was to transfer a battalion of up to 800 troops with military equipment. The dimensions of the power supply for the laser gun can reduce the number of troops.

The US Navy has not yet announced TLM test results for the USS Portland.

Comments

[rocket757]

According to recent reports, a new American warship began to test on-board laser weapons.
it now appears that the USS Portland has more modern weapons.

It can become a weapon of the future, which is already coming ....

[Uncle lee]

Quote: rocket757

weapons of the future

The future will come, no doubt. But THIS is a weapon, such as SOI ...
I think so.

[rocket757]

Quote from Uncle Lee

The future will come, no doubt. But THIS is a weapon, such as SOI ...
I think so.

This weapon has problems, as well as many other things, at first. How successful the problems will be / will not be solved, it will depend on whether it will be like the fifth leg of a dog or a really effective weapon with the right tactics of use.
Bye, bye ... but nothing, by and large to discuss bye! But you have to test, work in this direction! Who did not have time, he can be late.

[Solieri]

rocket757, Americans so far in the role of catching up ...

[cniza]

Rather, running and not the fact that in parallel.

[rocket757]

Quote: cniza

Rather, running and not the fact that in parallel.

In parallel, it is not necessary that the end goal is the same!
Maybe someone needs to shoot down drones and that's it, but someone wanted to cut battleships!
The laser is both there and there, but very different !!!

[rocket757]

Quote: Salieri

rocket757, Americans so far in the role of catching up ...

In such a case, it is more important who comes to the finish FIRST!

[mehan]

Is the Russian Navy already equipped with megawatt Relights?

[NN52]

Here is this module before being installed on board the ship. If he is in this dimension, then he can be "shoved" not only in Portland ...

[rocket757]

Quote: NN52

Here is this module before installation on board the ship.

Now modular, very justified.
Especially when there is a process of debugging, design refinement, which is very practical for new products!
Secondly, interchangeability, the same components of weapon systems for different ships / objects .... repair and other support services will breathe a sigh of relief, getting rid of the unnecessary, tedious, diversity of everything and everyone!

[Civil]

But we have supersonic weapons.

[rocket757]

Quote: Civil

But we have supersonic weapons.

Supersound bullets, shells, planes fly, ALREADY LONG.
By the way, they are engaged in lasers, they have been using us for a long time.

[knn54]

If only the weather did not "let us down."

[rocket757]

Quote: knn54

If only the weather did not "let us down."

The weather is against the laser! There is such a theme, ts nuance!

[mark1]

Something we "hung" on "Peresvet", it would not be bad to get a couple of three varieties of tactical laser systems in the branch of the military.

[K-612-O]

And I wonder why? The Americans are bothering with this because there are no quick-fire guns for air defense, but we have them and they are cheaper. And Peresvet is a completely different weight category, with its power.

[mark1]

What a self-sufficient you are! Poor Americans, with their Vulcan, have been at a standstill for almost a hundred years! What to discuss then?

[K-612-O]

Well, at the Tunguska, the volcanoes caught up with the automatic guns at a rate of fire, although there aren’t so many trunks there, I’m generally silent about the sea ones, like on the Shells. And so for a second Vulcan 5-6 thousand., AK630 9-10 thousand rounds per minute

[mark1]

Quote: K-612-O

I’m silent about the sea,

It's not so much about the rate of fire as about accuracy. To achieve similar parameters with the "Phalanx", we put two blocks of barrels against one of them.

[standan]

And to you heap https://topwar.ru/18761-shestipalaya-falanga-zenitnyy-artilleriyskiy-kompleks-phalanx.html

[Private-K]

So they were. Entire full-time companies with tactical laser weapons. When the USSR.
Very little is known, probably, so far, it does not fully justify itself. Although, on the other hand, in an attack, blinding the enemy and barring fire on his troops works. But others say that it works poorly. In general, the topic of effectiveness is still classified.

[mark1]

Quote: Private-K

So they were. Entire full-time companies with tactical laser weapons. When the USSR.

This suggests that there were good military experts in the USSR. Americans and other Swedes are also not stupid, as much as we would like to. It is necessary to revive at a new technological level, then what. used to be installed on a tank chassis or "Hurricane" is quite placed on the armored personnel carrier platform.

Quote: Private-K

But others say that it works poorly.

I wonder who, where used?

[Good_Anonymous]

Quote: Private-K

Entire full-time companies with tactical laser weapons.

In every battalion!

[Private-K]

No. Company in SMEs. There were several such regiments.

[Good_Anonymous]

Those. for all Ground Forces - several companies with "tactical laser weapons"? And what kind of weapon was there?

[Mainbeam]

I remembered the joke:

- Comrade Korolev, we at the Politburo decided to send the astronaut to the Sun.
- What are you, it's hot there so that the metal melts!
“Do you think fools are sitting in the Politburo?” Fly at night.

So here, when I read about the "tactical laser module"
I see a picture of how RCCs fly on a cold rainy night ...

[GRF]

wait better than a dust storm ...

[Thrifty]

So far, this is only a prototype. Serious work is needed before a truly combat version of the laser appears. Many issues need to be resolved, first of all these are energy sources, an effective system of protection against overheating of the laser barrel when firing in a continuous mode, or "bursts". The fact that the United States has squeezed in drives or high-power batteries only confirms that the United States is also not yet able to solve a lot of problems, and does not know how to do this in the foreseeable future.

[The popuas]

Laser barrel

[K-612-O]

And shooting bursts is also a pearl a person does not imagine how a laser works.

[Ka-52]

And shooting in bursts, too, a pearl belay a person does not imagine how the laser works.

this is called impulses. Well, is not radish sweeter.

[K-612-O]

And what is impulse? The pulse ends at 100 μs, then the static begins. And it is important not so much cooling as providing thermal stabilization.

[Boa kaa]

Quote: Thrifty

protection system against overheating of the laser barrel when firing in continuous mode, or "bursts"

Yeah ... "walk like a horse!"
There is a problem of heating optical systems, systems of focusing and aiming the beam ... Previously, there was a problem with storage devices, but it was solved. The above listed ones will also solve ... From the chemical because of the size and weight of the "components" (they did not fit into mobile installations and were not "rapid-fire") they refused, although the power is not comparable with solid-state ... Fiber-optic is now tied into a bundle and got the desired result. So, science is wiggling brains and soon there will be a "hyperbaloid" for the battlefield ... But the true element of high-energy quantum installations is space. That's where you need to look.
And the fact that the Amy decided to burn our RCC with a laser is a search for ways out of a hypersonic navel ... But it’s terrible, their anus is also not iron!
AHA.

[Mountain shooter]

The efficiency of even a diode-pumped fiber laser is 30 percent. 150 kW in radiation - 500 kW "in heat" is not very much, but heat must be removed intensively, and from a very small volume ...

[Private-K]

Quote: Mountain Shooter

The efficiency of even a diode-pumped fiber laser is 30 percent. 150 kW in radiation - 500 kW "in heat" is not very much, but heat must be removed intensively, and from a very small volume ...

And the enemy, the bastard, also put an aerosol curtain ...
And in general - fog ...

[Private-K]

And at what range will this thing burn / cut the target? 1 km? 5 km? 15 km?

[voyaka uh]

Within 5-7 km

[Private-K]

And what is better than a 76mm autocannon?

[voyaka uh]

The fact that autocannons, firing hundreds of shells, do not destroy the target.
At least a dozen of these put on the ship.
This has been tested many times in exercises and in combat.
There, they showed how the Carapace could not shoot down a drone from a cannon.
I had to launch a rocket. And the cannons are generally removed from the new Carapace.

[Private-K]

This is not about 30 mm autocannons, but about 76 mm with a 6,5 kg shell. Such a shell, a queue of such shells, is quite enough to disable any small ship.
Proven reliable design. With much more effective range than this laser. And without any weather dependence.
And if not enough - take 127mm. Also, everything has been worked out for a long time and reliably.
And where is the place of the laser with its unstable characteristics and weather dependence and ease of interfering with the laser beam?

[voyaka uh]

"a burst of such shells is quite enough to disable any small ship." ///
----
Do not get into the drone. And do not even get close. This is not for airplanes
shoot.

[Basarev]

Well done. They are working on a technology that they are doing more and more suitable for widespread use, they are trying. And in our case, it was limited to propaganda about the allegedly existent Relight.

[K-612-O]

Yes, yes, and supposedly cardboard . We have everything bad and fell apart, never forget about it.

[Vladimir_2U]

I wish Portland more cement! Repair holes.

[valeryb]

Yeah, Americans do not read VO, do not read. Otherwise, they would have known that by installing the majority of specialists in VO, a mirror, silverfish, fog, dust, a small power, and indeed your physicist will nullify laser undertakings.

[Alexey-74]

So far, these are all prototypes. Although I do not argue, the time will come and laser weapons will find their niche in the armament of all advanced countries.

[voyaka uh]

150 kW is enough to catch a cruise missile.
Small drones and boats managed to burn and a 35 kW laser,
working at UDC USS Ponce.

[mehan]

Quote: GRF

wait better than a dust storm ...

Above the sea. Yeah.

[mehan]

Quote: valeryb

Yeah, Americans do not read VO, do not read. Otherwise, they would have known that by installing the majority of specialists in VO, a mirror, silverfish, fog, dust, a small power, and indeed your physicist will nullify laser undertakings.

Forgot the foil hat.

[awdrgy]

About 12 years ago I remember in the news periodically skipped about the development of Americans in the field of hypersound, we were silent - the result is interesting

[Klingon]

Quote: mark1

Something we "hung" on "Peresvet", it would not be bad to get a couple of three varieties of tactical laser systems in the branch of the military.

in the sense of freezing? to be honest, it is generally difficult to believe in its existence. at least a couple of three videos from the tests were, otherwise they showed a computer animation of the installation as it opens the shutter and the emitter turns.
in the USSR, by the way, the LO arsenal was several times larger - TERRA, Beriev A-50, * Compression *

[Forest]

Create like a laser on an aircraft carrier.
It is interesting to watch how the lovers of the USS kiss in the stern this trough)