
A Navy amphibious transport dock ship conducted a high-energy laser weapon system demonstration test in the Gulf of Aden on Dec. 14. The Solid State Laser - Technology Maturation Laser Weapons System Demonstrator (LWSD) Mark 2 MOD 0 aboard the USS Portland (LPD-27) was successfully tested against a status surface training target, the Navy said. This was the newest test of the Portland’s laser system since a May 2020 exercise when it successfully disabled and shot down a small unmanned…