On December 16, according to the Russian Satellite News Agency quoted by the US Naval Times, the LPD-27 amphibious landing ship "Portland" of the US 5th Fleet successfully destroyed a floating target at sea by using a laser weapon system in the Gulf of Aden sea on December 14.
This move has proven that a solid-state laser weapon system can be used against small, high-speed speedboat-like targets on the surface of the water and can intercept attacks by bomb-carrying unmanned speedboats in Yemen's Houthi armed forces.
According to the US Naval Times, this is the second time that the US Navy LPD-27 "Portland" amphibious landing ship has conducted a test firing of the laser weapon system, according to which the laser weapon system can protect the ship from small high-speed attack boats or unmanned ships.
Prior to that, in May 2020, the Portland shot down a flying drone with a shipborne laser weapon system.
Now, the US Navy's LPD-27 amphibious landing ship "Portland" is on escort duty in the waters of the Gulf of Aden, and is in the middle of the war.
The use of a shipboard laser weapon system successfully destroyed a floating target on the surface of the sea, and outside comments issued a warning to yemen's Houthi armed forces not to attack passing ships.
After the outbreak of civil war in Yemen, the war expanded to the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and other waters, and many countries responded to the initiative of the United Nations Security Council and sent surface ships to participate in the escort of the Gulf of Aden and other seas to combat pirates and fearful attacks at sea.
The US 5th Fleet's LPD-27 AMPHIBed Landing Ship Portland, this time in the Gulf of Aden waters, the use of the shipboard solid-state laser weapon system, hit a floating target at sea, but also silently revealed a major signal to the outside world, that is, the US Navy has the ability to put the laser weapon system into actual combat.
At present, the output power of the U.S. Navy's onboard laser weapon system on the LPD-27 amphibious landing ship Portland is still weak, and it does not have the ability to destroy main battleships such as destroyers and frigates.
Solid-state laser weapon system, with high-speed launch, high hit rate advantages, but also facing some technical problems, the US ship SSL-TM laser weapon system, the power of only 150 kilowatts, can only be equipped in the "Portland" such a large tonnage, large power generation of auxiliary ships.
It is believed that in time, with the level of science and technology of the United States and the ability of military research and development, the possibility of shipboard high-power laser weapon systems on board the ship exists, at least it cannot be ruled out.
Laser weapon system, will be a direction and weather vane for the development of ship-borne weapons of powerful navies, the US Navy LPD-27 "Portland" amphibious landing ship, shoot down drones, destroy floating targets at sea, can be described as a "cattle knife test".
In the use of shipboard laser weapon systems, the US Navy seems to be ahead of other countries' navies and will play a leading role, and other countries may cross the river by touching the stones of "eagle sauce".