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ABOVE: A prototype laser gun knocks out a moving motorboat's outboard engine from a mile away (video requires Flash).
The US may be slipping on the world stage, but in weapons it's catching up to Dr Evil.
The Office of Naval Research told Wired it's developed a working laser canon, and is just months away from inviting defence contractors to bid on a contract to build it for them.
Laser guns for ships are two to four years away, the ONR says.
The prototype in the clip above is a "weak" 14 kilowatt laser ("think 140 lamps, all shining in the same direction and at the same wavelength") but 100 and 1000 kilowatt canons are apparently in the works.
NBR staff
Sat, 31 Mar 2012
Sat, 31 Mar 2012
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US Navy - we're four years away from a laser canon
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