Laser weapon breaks cover on USS Ponce

Key Points

• The LaWS prototype is being deployed on USS Ponce to demonstrate a SSL-QRC
• The results of the demonstration will inform a follow-on SSL-TM programme

The US Navy (USN) has released the first high-quality images showing a Laser Weapon System (LaWS) demonstrator installed on board the interim Afloat Forward Staging Base USS Ponce (AFSB(I)-15) in the Gulf.

A prototype 30 kW-class solid-state laser (SSL) weapon system developed under the leadership of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), the LaWS integrates six commercial 5.4 kW fibre lasers with a beam combiner originated by the Naval Research Laboratory. To reduce costs, the programme has re-used some hardware previously developed or procured for other research applications, including: a L-3 Brashear KINETO K433 tracking mount; a 500 mm telescope; and high-performance infrared sensors.

LaWS testing began in 2009. In 2012 the system completed successful at-sea tests on the DDG 51 Arleigh Burke-class Flight III guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey (DDG 105). During testing from Dewey between July and September 2012, the LaWS system (temporarily installed on the ship's flight deck) successfully shot down three threat-representative unmanned air vehicle (UAV) targets.

Testing on Dewey gave the USN the confidence to move ahead with an accelerated deployment plan. Plans to install LaWS - given the nomenclature AN/SEQ-3 (XN-1) - on board Ponce were announced by Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert in April 2013. AN/SEQ-3 is being deployed as an SSL-Quick Reaction Capability (SSL-QRC) to enable the USN to evaluate the technology in an operational environment and examine its contribution to self-defence against armed fast boats and UAVs. Experimentation is being led by the US Naval Warfare Development Command in co-operation with US Naval Forces Central Command/Fifth Fleet.

The SSL-QRC evaluation on Ponce is expected to last for a period of 12 months. The ship, based in Bahrain and assigned of the US 5th Fleet, received the LaWS installation in late August and has subsequently conducted at-sea tests. The LaWS system has been fitted on the deck atop of Ponce 's bridge, with the beam director housed inside a shuttered deck house that opens and retracts prior to operations.

Data gathered from the LaWS at-sea demonstration will feed into the Office of Naval Research's (ONR's) SSL-Technology Maturation (SSL-TM) programme. Established in 2012, a key goal of the SSL-TM programme is to align science and technology programme thresholds and objectives with future research, development, and acquisition requirements.

ANALYSIS
The SSL-QRC on Ponce represents a first step towards the USN's long-term goal of deploying high-energy laser (HEL) weapons across its surface fleet as an adjunct to existing hard-kill weapons. In particular, the service is attracted by the low cost-per-shot capability to defeat a subset of inexpensive 'asymmetric' targets such as small UAVs and fast inshore attack craft.

ONR's follow-on SSL-TM programme is intended to demonstrate a 100-150 kW Advanced Development Model by 2016, to determine the most effective means to integrate a HEL on surface ships such as DDG 51 vessels and the Littoral Combat Ship, and to address various technical challenges so as to bring technology up to a sufficient level of maturity to commence an acquisition programme of record.

Three industry teams - led by Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, and Raytheon - have been selected to develop SSL-TM designs. ONR will in 2015 decide which of these are suitable for demonstration at sea.

Laser weapon breaks cover on USS Ponce - IHS Jane's 360