“Boeing’s new Compact Laser Weapon System (LWS) breaks down into four parts, each transportable by one or two Marines,” fool.com reports. “Boeing says these components include: a battery, a water-cooled chiller, a commercially available fiber laser and an upgraded beam director, weighing 40% less than a previous model. In total, the system weighs about 650 pounds and would probably be operated by a squad of eight to 12 soldiers or Marines.” Easy to schlep, fiendishly complicated to use. How battle-ready is that? Still, Boeing’s LWS seems like it could be a pretty effective weapon system. The company claims that it’s . . .
Able to be assembled in just 15 minutes, LWS is capable of generating an energy beam of up to 10 kilowatts that can, depending on the power level, be used to acquire, track, and identify a target — or even destroy it — at ranges of at least 22 miles. The weapon is designed specifically to track and attack moving aerial targets such as incoming artillery rounds, and low-flying aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Destroying incoming artillery rounds with a laser? That’s some fancy shootin’, Tex. Or a tall tale. Not that Boeing would make exaggerated claims about a weapons system to puff-up its stock price – even if the rest of the fool.com article practically screams BUY! No one in the defense industry would ever dream of such a thing. Or low-ball the cost and complexity of a weapon system to lure Uncle Sam into [what turns out to be] a ginormous “over-spend.” Just saying’ . . .