The Navy brought a retired laser weapon back for a new drone fight

The military’s directed-energy push still depends heavily on yesterday’s hardware.

Amphibious transport dock USS Portland (LPD 27) transits the Gulf of Aden, Dec. 13, with a Solid State Laser – Technology Maturation Laser Weapons System Demonstrator Mark 2 MOD 0 on board. [Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Devin Kates]

The U.S. Navy spent at least six months resurrecting a high-energy laser weapon that previously graced the bow of a warship for a new military exercise last year, the service recently revealed.

The Navy’s Directed Energy Systems Integration Laboratory (DESIL)—the dedicated facility for evaluating laser weapons in a maritime environment located at Naval Base Ventura County in Point Mugu, California—“ramped up efforts to restore critical functions” to the........

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