Maritime Laser Demonstration System Proves Key Capabilities For Shipboard Operations: "Northrop Grumman recently completed a series of tests of the Maritime Laser Demonstration (MLD) system, moving high-energy lasers a step closer to deployment aboard U.S. Navy ships.
Recent shore-based tests at the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) in Port Hueneme proved the MLD system's ability to track small boats at long ranges and in a marine environment.
'Tracking tests were part of a larger program designed to demonstrate laser weapon system capability for fleet defense,' according to Steve Hixson, vice president of Space and Directed Energy Systems for Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems.
'Such lasers would complement other defensive systems to address certain threats more effectively and at lower cost than traditional weapons.'"
