When he announced a series of measures to control military costs, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said technological superiority will be essential to U.S. defenses. The Navy is ready to deploy a new, super powerful laser this summer. It’s capable of shooting down drones or sinking small boats. It’s big and power-hungry, but the device can be operated by one sailor. Coming after that, the world’s most powerful catapult.
Capt. Mike Ziv is the program manager for directed energy and electric weapon systems for the Naval Sea Systems Command. He says the laser’s biggest advantage is, it will bring down the cost of engaging threats.