US Navy will test an improved combat laser starting this fall on Amphibious warship Portland

Amphibious warship Portland (LPD-27) will have a combat laser weapon installed by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and will serve as the flagship of this year’s Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise in Hawaii.

The laser gun that is considered a next-generation follow-on to the Laser Weapon System (LaWS) that was tested for three years in the Middle East aboard afloat forward staging base USS Ponce.

The laser will be installed as early as this fall and will be a bolt-on capability, much like LaWS.