US to equip its nuclear submarines with laser, to target drones and patrol

Washington: The United States has decided to equip its nuclear submarines with a high-energy laser system with the beam travelling at lightspeed. A US military magazine published that the United States intends to target drones and patrol vessels with this laser system. The United States has initiated moves to equip fighter jets, warships and military vehicles with lasers and now even the submarines are included in the list.

The US magazine quoting sources and documents claimed that a proposal to equip submarines with lasers had been presented a decade ago. It was proposed to use the Virginia class submarines, from the US navy, for this purpose. Virginia class submarines are nuclear powered and it was said that these will be compatible for a generation of high energy lasers. But it was also claimed that this system will not be effective as it cannot be used when the submarine is submerged.

But the magazine claimed that the Trump administration has decided to equip the submarines with lasers, quoting sources. The military analysts, while talking to the magazine clarified that the laser-equipped submarines can perform more than what is expected. As per the military analysts, the laser system will be more effective on nuclear submarines than the others.

The Virginia class submarines inducted in the US navy in 2004, are equipped with an advanced torpedo and Tomahawk cruise missiles. But the Virginia class submarines have been mostly used for missions to extract confidential information. The Mast (pole for capturing radio signals) of these submarines can be used for installing the laser. Military analysts have claimed that this will enable the submarine to target drones, patrol boats and targets on the land.

US navy has refused to react to these reports. But as per the magazine’s information, the US navy has already initiated the work on the laser-equipped submarine. It further states that the work on this proposal started in 2017. The magazine predicted a possibility that a laser-equipped submarine may be ready for deployment at the end of 2020.

Meanwhile, nearly a year ago, US President Trump had expressed concerns that Russia and China are leading in Artificial Intelligence, stealth and laser technology and the United States is lagging. President Trump had also announced that the United States would become the leader in these sectors, once again.