A ship-based laser tested by the Navy's research arm could put the heat on Somali pirates.

I know that I just posted something on this new weapon of the Navy’s yesterday, but I didn’t connect the “bobbing boat” in the test with Somali Pirates…silly me. Perhaps this weapon was designed with those rascals in mind. You never know.

No matter how you look at it, it’s Buck Rodger’s stuff to old coots like me!

Excerpt:

“The baseball-sized laser beam, though, could be used to stop small crafts from approaching naval ships. It could also target pirates.

"You can use the laser to ward off an attack, or you can dial it down to a non-lethal level where it basically becomes a very bright light so they know they are being targeted," Michael Deitchman, the director of air warfare and weapons at the Office of Naval Research, said Wednesday.

Deitchman said the laser provides two benefits not seen in other military weapons. The laser is precise, unlike bullets that can ricochet and hit unintended targets, and the laser's strength can be dialed down from a lethal level to a nuisance level.” Story Here

PHOTO: An optimistic artist's rendering of a fully operational Maritime Laser Demonstrator.Office of Naval Research