New Combat Ship Comes Home

After nine months of testing at sea, a new addition to the Navy's family has returned to home port. Littoral combat ships (LCS) are a new class of warship being introduced to the Navy, and they possess several advantages over other ship models in coastal (littoral means coastal) operations. The LCS uses waterjets instead of propellors to move through the water, which will save the Navy roughly $100 million in dry dock costs alone. They are faster than most destroyers, and they are highly customizable. Weapons systems and rescue technologies can be installed, moved, and adjusted to fit mission requirements; these are referred to as mission modules. They can carry two Seahawk helicopters and an assortment of vehicles for deploying forces. The LCS is also adept at minesweeping and deployment of unmanned air and maritime systems, making it an ideal replacement vessel for aging minesweeper ships.

USS Freedom, the LCS that returned to home port in San Diego on December 24. Photo taken by MC1 James R. Evans, US Navy. Hosted by Stars and Stripes.

LCS models have been identified as early candidates for the Laser Weapons Systems (LaWS) designed by the Navy to take down aircraft with high-powered lasers instead of bullets. This makes it a strong counter-drone technology for coastal combat. It is admittedly weaker at surface-to-air combat than most destroyers, but its ability to deal with shallower waters provides more mission versatility than other boats with landing pads.

The USS Independence, the second of the first two LCS in the Navy's ranks. Photo via Wikipedia.

The LCS is cited by the Navy as primarily being a surveillance and anti-access technology. This means that it will primarily take out small vessels, such as speedboats, submarines, and drones. The development of this boat should come as no surprise, as the military has frequently mentioned the need to control the growing development of drone technologies in China and generally in the Pacific Theater. Possessing the ability to deploy its own unmanned systems, as well as the potential for a LaWS installation, the LCS could be the cornerstone to a new counter-drone strategy.

Laser Weapons Systems

The Laser Weapons System (LaWS) is a directed-energy weapon that is capable of locking onto and terminating aircraft without firing bullets or ballistics. It uses a series of laser beams to lock onto the craft, disable any cameras or recording devices, then cause a tremendous amount of concentrated heat to burn the target out of the sky. While it is ineffective in poor weather conditions and is currently unable to take down rapid missiles and fighter jets, it is extremely effective against small aircraft and boats.

The blue beam tracks the location of the target, while the red beam disables any cameras or monitoring equipment mounted below. This would make it highly effective against drone technologies.

The heat generated by the main laser beam causes the visionless plane to combust.

There are a range of benefits to utilizing the LaWS system over surface to air missiles. LaWS is limited by its energy capacity, rather than the amount of ammunition supplied on a ship. Utilizing LaWS means that a ship would need to carry less ammunition, both freeing up space on board as well as lowering the amount of weight (and thus energy needed for transportation) aboard the vessel. While laser technologies are still in prototype phases, they promise to significantly cut costs on ammunition and will be utilized by the Navy in the near future. Rear Admiral and Chief of Naval Research Matthew Klunder says that, although the technology cost the government $40 million to develop, it costs "less than one US dollar" to fire a LaWS blast, as opposed to thousands and "sometimes millions" spent per smart bomb or missile. The first system will be installed and utilized to disable patrol boats and spy planes in the Persian Gulf in 2014.

Maybe one of the most effective uses of this technology is in counter-intelligence and the ability to disable cameras and vehicles without injuring passengers. As opposed to the heavily destructive impact of missiles, LaWS can be adjusted to blind and disable cameras, engines, and more without harming the vehicle's operators. This is a major advancement for naval non-lethal weapons technology, and hopefully it will cut down on war casualties.