U.S Navy now have laser weapon deployed with permission to use.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Thanks for the comment.

So maybe you can answer my question: Why is the Navy worried about "access to maritime battlefields"? There are vast oceans out there, and the Navy usually travels in mega-armed convoys. Who or what would try to deny them access to "maritime battlefields"?

Thanks.

The cheapness of it amazes me, $1 a shot. Lol, whole target destroyed.

That's not counting the cost to build and maintain it.

A bomb explosion could be priced at the cost of the push a button if it's other costs are left out. It's still a good return if it works well for years of use.

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: BlastedCaddy

That's a real thing?

Afraid so. While the US Navy continues to build air craft carriers, other navies have been developing methods to counter them.

Iran, China, Russia and India all have arsenals… among other things. Undersea rocket mines , new classes of diesel subs deploying rocket torpedoes, and a variety of missiles. Lasers don't reach under the ocean, either.

google images

Videos

I am extremely interested in these new inventions of naval warfare you mention like the "undersea rocket mines" and "rocket torpedoes" they sound ridiculous but if you have links that such things exist I will have to re-evaluate. As far as I know rockets are only useful in the air but I think you are saying underwater rockets.

Anyway sea-skimming missiles are useless without excellent guidance same for any missile, but a sea-skimming one would have to rely on outside guidance for moving ships which leaves the vulnerable to jamming.

a reply to: MKMoniker

Everyone. The oceans are vast but the space near a country where they may need to fight is limited and defined by the weapons in use.

a reply to: Grimpachi

www.navy.mil...
U.S. NAVY'S TORPEDOES AND THE NEXT GEN OF UNDERSEA WEAPONS

www.freerepublic.com...
(2001) RUSSIAN "ROCKET TORPEDO" ARMS CHINESE SUBS

www.navy.mil...
CHINA'S SEA MINES

www.navy.mil...
(2007) UNDERSEA WARFARE: CHINA REFERS TO RUSSIA AS "THE WORLD'S 'SEA-MINE KINGDOM'."

a reply to: Grimpachi

Russia developed the Shkval rocket powered torpedo that is extremely fast, but very limited in range, and unstable as hell. It's thought that is what exploded and sank Kursk.

It's just like everything else, we develop something, they counter it, we counter their counter....

a reply to: Zaphod58

That makes sense. Thanks.

a reply to: MKMoniker

a reply to:Zaphod58


Interesting there are rocket torpedos. Position re-evaluated.


Are there any confirmed reports on the range or if they have developed a guidance system for them?

a reply to: intrptr

US Carriers are tough birds. First they normally wont be in range of most threats to it, second it will be heavily protected by a fleet and aircraft and subs, third the hulls are designed to take hits and not significantly degrade its capabilities, and fourth it has an enormous amount of electronic counter measures, and finally after all that it has the Phalanx and NOW FREAKEN LAZORS to defend it.

Surprise attack is about the only way to take one down when it is vulnerable and not expecting it, on Alert you would be hard pressed to get anything in range of it. Probably the most significant threat would be stealthy submarines and honestly I am not sure where we stand in that fight of detection and stealth.

Oh and of course there is the Nuke Card but once those g off it wont matter if Carriers are around after that. That is an entirely different game. A US carrier fleet is probably one of the safest place to be in the world when the poop hits the fan.

a reply to: Grimpachi

They're too fast to steer. They pretty much point at the target and shoot. Range for the Shkval I is about 4.5 miles, the II is between 6.5-9.5.

a reply to: Xeven

One of the carriers they recently turned into a reef had a 2,000 pound explosive detonated almost in contact with the hull and survived.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Impressive range but without guidance it would be difficult to hit a moving target. Ships would be a bit easier but another sub moving in three dimensions would be near impossible I can see why they were part of the nuclear arsenal they would only need to be in the vicinity to knock out the target with concussive force.

When I was living on the space coast my neighbor who used to work for NASA was in the private sector developing anti-mine and torpedo defense that could fire a high-speed projectile that he said looked like a dart and had proximity fuse. I wonder if it was being designed with those in mind.

a reply to: Grimpachi

That's one of several ways they've developed to counter them. The problem is if you can disrupt the cavitation system the stress of that kind of speed works against it.

originally posted by: BlastedCaddy
a reply to: intrptr

Of course it's a real thing.... What was I thinking? It's almost 2015. We have starving ppl being murdered all over the globe. We also have supersonic surfing bombs that take out Supercarriers. Everything's super.

Thanks for the info intrptr.

HEre is the downside to hypersonic missiles. The SEA ram missiles was specifically designed to counter those. RADAR used to not go down to wave top level but now they can. after those war games in the gulf bout 10-20 yrs ago. they plugged that hole pretty good. Also...A force big enough to launch a mass missile attack would had been under fire before coming into launch range. Hypersonic torpedos are incredibly loud and have a short range compared to a US navy torp. also they cant turn fast or they disintigrate.

I have always said the navy needs reactive armor that explodes outward like claymores as a very last resort.

originally posted by: FutureWithoutFuture4
The problem with Laser Weapon on ships is that it can be disabled with electromagnet warfare.

That's the problem with going all "digital"

Faraday protection won't help because "burn through" is easier to cause than to protect from. I am of course talking about abilities of Superpowers, not small countries that can't defend themselves anyway.

actually.....these are hardened against that. This thing practically radiates EM rads. also emp willl not destroy a carrier groups ability to fight these days. they can be rebooted very fast