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Old 07-22-2019, 10:59 AM
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Thumbs up 1st report: US NAVY’S ENERGY WEAPON GETS FIRST “KILL,” SHOOTS IRANIAN DRONE

US NAVY’S ENERGY WEAPON GETS FIRST “KILL,” SHOOTS IRANIAN DRONE
By: Kristin Houser - Futurism - 7-22-19
RE: https://futurism.com/the-byte/irania...pon-first-kill

Firing Back

In June, Iran’s military shot down one of the U.S. Navy’s $130 million Global Hawk drones, claiming it had veered out of international airspace and into the nation’s territory.

Now, the U.S. Navy has returned the favor, using a new directed-energy weapon to disable an Iranian drone in the same region — marking the next-generation device’s first known “kill.”

Mixed Signals

According to a Department of Defense statement, a fixed wing drone approached the USS Boxer while the ship traveled through the Strait of Hormuz on July 18. The drone then came within a threatening range, prompting the crew to take “defensive action.”

A defense official later told Military.com on the condition of anonymity that the Navy took out the drone using its Light Marine Air Defense Integrated System (LMADIS), a new device that uses radio frequencies to jam drones.

Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif, meanwhile, has denied the

incident altogether, telling reporters the nation has “no information about losing a drone.”

First Kill
With drones becoming cheaper and more capable, the U.S. military has been investing heavily in anti-drone tech in recent years. However, while many of those systems involve literally shooting down drones, LMADIS essentially uses energy to render a drone useless.

That makes it a far cheaper countermeasure to a drone attack than, say, shooting a threatening device with a missile — meaning this first directed-energy drone “kill” might just be the first of many.
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O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
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Old 07-22-2019, 11:03 AM
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Thumbs up A US Navy ship used a new drone-defense system to take down an Iranian drone

2nd report: A US Navy ship used a new drone-defense system to take down an Iranian drone
1st known 'kil;' by an energy weapon
By: Andrew Liptak - The Verge - 7-21-19
RE: https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/21/2...apon-uss-boxer

Photo link: https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ZUEG...58_1225.0.jpeg
Image: Lance Cpl. Dalton S. Swanbeck / 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit

On Thursday, a US Navy ship in the Persian Gulf reportedly used a new, anti-drone system to take down an Iranian drone that came within a thousand yards, according to Military.com.

In a statement, the Department of Defense confirmed that the USS Boxer was moving through the Strait of Hormuz when it was approached by a fixed-wing drone which “closed within a threatening range,” which prompted the ship’s crew to take “defensive action.” Iran has denied the allegation.

According to C4ISRNET, the Marines aboard the USS Boxer used a new system called a MRZR LMADIS — a Light Marine Air Defense Integrated System. The system is mounted on a Polaris MRZR vehicle, which has appeared in DoD photos of the ship. USNI News says that it’s the “first known kill by a new generation of electronic warfare and directed energy weapons” by the US.

The system is comprised of two vehicles — one a “command node,” and the other a “sensor node.” The vehicles are outfitted with radar sensors, cameras, and radio frequency detectors and jammers. Once the crew is able to detect a threat, they use the jammer to disrupt the signals from the drone. While the system has been tested out on land by ground forces, Military.com reports that the Navy and Marines began testing the system on ships earlier this year.

The incident comes a month after the Iranian military shot down a US spy drone in the same region. The US military has begun to take the threats posed by drones more seriously in recent years as cheap commercial devices have made their way onto the market, and as foreign militaries invest more in the technology.

As USNI News points out, a jamming system is a cost-effective means of defense. A couple of years ago, a US ally used a $3 million Patriot missile to take down a $200 drone — an expensive proposition. In this instance, the USS Boxer had defensive missile systems in place, which it could have used to take down the UAV, or the 5-inch guns that are part of its Phalanx Close-in Weapons Systems. But those systems aren’t always effective: guns and missiles can miss. But directed-energy weapons are cheaper to operate and are a bit more effective, as this particular drone discovered.

The US military has launched numerous experiments when it comes to using directed-energy weapons against drones and missiles. The US Air Force unveiled a new system called THOR (Tactical High Power Microwave Operational Responder) in June, designed to take down swarms of drones, while the US Army began investing in high-powered microwave cannons to take down drones last year.
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Boats

O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
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