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Watch: U.S. Navy Warship Successfully Destroys Aircraft Mid-Flight With High-Energy Laser Weapon

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Video shows a U.S. Navy warship successfully shot down an aircraft out of the sky using a high-energy laser weapon. The USS Portland, a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship of the United States Navy based out of San Diego, used a high-energy class solid-state laser to destroy a drone mid-flight.

“Amphibious transport dock ship USS Portland (LPD 27) successfully disabled an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a Solid State Laser – Technology Maturation Laser Weapon System Demonstrator (LWSD) MK 2 MOD 0 on May 16,” the Navy’s Pacific Fleet said in a statement on Friday.

The Navy said that the test was the “first system-level implementation of a high-energy class solid-state laser.” The 150-kilowatt weapon system has three lasers that were developed by Northrup Grumman.

“By conducting advanced at sea tests against UAVs and small crafts, we will gain valuable information on the capabilities of the Solid State Laser Weapons System Demonstrator against potential threats,” Capt. Karrey Sanders, commanding officer of Portland, said.

(Read more from “Watch: U.S. Navy Warship Successfully Destroys Aircraft Mid-Flight With High-Energy Laser Weapon” HERE)

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Navy Veteran Found Dead in His Apartment Three Years Later

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A Navy veteran found deceased in his Texas apartment was thought by officials to have died up to three years ago, the last time anyone heard from him.

The remains of Ronald Wayne White, 54, were in the DeSoto Town Center apartment in the Dallas suburbs “for an extended period of time, up to when he was last known alive three years ago,” according to the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office. White retired from the U.S. Navy as a chief petty officer in 2004 and had worked as a defense contractor since that time.

White’s absence was first noticed by his mother, Doris Stevens, 70, who said that even though her son traveled often, it was unusual for them to go months without speaking to one another. After she was unable to reach him on his birthday in April 2017, Stevens contacted the Dallas police and police in nearby Glenn Heights, where Wayne once owned a home, but claimed authorities would not permit her to file a missing person’s report for her son.

“They asked how old my son was, and I told them, and they said, ‘You can’t make a missing person report for a grown-up,'” Stevens said of her efforts. . .

Stevens, who lives in Shreveport, Louisiana and is dependent on a limited income, claims that she also tried to get family to help pool money to hire a private investigator but was not successful. A statement from the DeSoto Town Center said Wayne’s body went undiscovered for so long because he had set up his bills to be auto-paid, and a disruption in normal behavior was not detected. His remains were discovered by maintenance staff responding to an automated request for service. (Read more from “Navy Veteran Found Dead in His Apartment Three Years Later” HERE)

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U.S. Naval Academy Grants Satanists ‘Study Space’

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The United States Naval Academy (USNA) has granted a room for midshipmen associated with the Satanic Temple to conduct “Satanic services” and to study “Satanic philosophy,” according to a leaked email.

USNA spokesperson Cmdr. Alana Garas subsequently claimed that this internal email – which all midshipmen received – was sent prematurely, and that the group of midshipmen were requesting only a “study group” space. Nonetheless, “services” are mentioned twice in the email. . .

“The notion that members of The Satanic Temple within the Naval Academy could be denied the right to hold services because we are nontheistic and/or politically active has absolutely no credible basis in law or common sense,” said Satanic Temple spokesman Lucien Greaves. “The Satanic Temple is no more a political cause than the Catholic Church or Southern Baptists.”

“Midshipmen have the right to assemble to discuss their beliefs as they choose, but, to be clear, in accordance with Department of Defense policy, military members will not engage in partisan political activities, and will avoid the inference that their activities may appear to imply [Defense Department] approval or endorsement of a political cause,” Garas told Fox News. . .

Although the Satanic Temple claims that its beliefs are based around seven tenets and a collection of natural virtues, a key focus of the group is using the mantle of “religious liberty” to advocate for abortion and other left-wing causes, even claiming abortion advocacy can be a form of worship. (Read more from “U.S. Naval Academy Grants Satanists ‘Study Space’” HERE)

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U.S. Navy Deploys New Ship-Killer Missile to China’s Backyard; This Stealthy New Missile Just Reached One of the World’s Hottest Flash Points

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By Defense News. It can travel more than 100 nautical miles, passively detect an enemy through imaging stored in its computer brain and can kill a target so precisely that an operator can tell it to aim for a specific point on a ship — the engine room or the bridge, for example. And it’s heading to China’s stomping grounds.

The U.S. Navy littoral combat ship Gabrielle Giffords deployed Tuesday from San Diego, California, packing the service’s new Naval Strike Missile, transforming the LCS from an under-gunned concept ship gone awry to a legitimate threat to Chinese warships at significant ranges.

Giffords is the second LCS to deploy this year. The LCS Montgomery also deployed from San Diego in June after a 19-month lapse in LCS deployments as the Navy reworked the way it mans and trains crews for the ships.

Pacific Fleet spokesman Capt. John Gay confirmed Giffords’ deployment, saying the ship got underway Sept. 3, equipped with the Naval Strike Missile and the newly mission-capable MQ-8C Fire Scout drone. The Fire Scout, an over-the-horizon surveillance and targeting platform, achieved its initial operational capability in June. . .

When equipped with the Raytheon/Kongsberg-made Naval Strike Missile, or NSM, and Northrop Grumman’s Fire Scout for surveillance over the horizon, an LCS sitting off the coast of Virginia Beach, Virginia, could destroy a ship sitting off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. That’s more than 30 miles further than the published range of the current anti-ship missile, the Harpoon, which is in excess of 67 miles. (Read more from “U.S. Navy Deploys New Ship-Killer Missile to China’s Backyard” HERE)

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This Stealthy New Missile Just Reached One of the World’s Hottest Flash Points

By Investors. The Navy has reportedly deployed a new stealth missile from Raytheon (RTN) that’s designed to sink ships to the Pacific, where territorial disputes have escalated regional tensions.

The Naval Strike Missile was deployed aboard the USS Gabrielle Giffords, a littoral combat ship, earlier this week from San Diego, on its way to the Indo-Pacific theater, according to Defense News.

The new stealth missile is designed to destroy enemy ships from up to 100 nautical miles away, according to Raytheon, which made it with Norway’s Kongsberg.

The sea-skimming, terrain-hugging missile also emits low-observable signals to avoid detection by enemy radars and uses an advanced seeker for precise targeting, Raytheon says. It can perform evasive maneuvers to counter antimissile defenses as well. . .

The deployment of the Raytheon missile comes as the U.S. ramps up freedom-of-navigation exercises amid myriad territorial disputes in the Pacific, where China is building artificial islands as part of an exclusion zone. (Read more from “This Stealthy New Missile Just Reached One of the World’s Hottest Flash Points” HERE)

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Navy Football Drops Team Motto Deemed ‘Insensitive’

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The Naval Academy superintendent announced Friday that “Load the Clip” has been dropped as this year’s football team motto, calling it “insensitive” to those affected by the mass shooting in Annapolis last year.

Chosen by senior captain football players for the 2019-2020 season, the motto was changed after reporters from The Capital asked Navy officials about it in the context of a national wave of mass shootings and the attack that killed five people just a few miles from Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

On June 28, 2018, a man with a shotgun entered the Capital Gazette newsroom and killed five employees: Gerald Fischman, John McNamara, Rob Hiaasen, Wendi Winters and Rebecca Smith. That same year, in September, three people were killed and three wounded at an Aberdeen Rite-Aid — about 60 miles from Annapolis — before the gunman killed herself.

“It is always my priority, part of my mission statement, for the Navy to be a good neighbor,” Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Admiral Sean S. Buck said in a statement released Friday afternoon.

“The bottom line is, we missed the mark here. The initial internal football team motto selected, ‘Load the Clip,’ was inappropriate and insensitive to the community we call home, and for that, I take responsibility for, and apologize to not only the Capital Gazette, but the entire Annapolis community.” (Read more from “Navy Football Drops Team Motto Deemed ‘Insensitive’” HERE)

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Navy to Review Dress Code After Pro-Trump Patches Seen on Uniforms

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The federal government is reportedly reviewing its Defense Department policy regulations on dress code after some service members wore a uniform patch with the words “Make Aircrew Great Again” during President Trump’s visit to their ship in Japan on Tuesday.

The patches were spotted on the sleeves of several service members aboard the USS Wasp, where the president spoke Monday. The phrase emblazoned on the patch, along with a likeness of Trump, is a play on his campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”

Reactions to the patches were mixed. Navy veteran Malcolm Nance, cited by the Daily Caller, called the patch a “novelty” and “unauthorized.” Other Trump critics were far less measured in their responses. . .

The military has uniform dress codes and regulations against partisan political acts while in uniform. The Navy said Tuesday that the matter was under review to ensure that the patches did not violate policy or regulations.

(Read more from “Navy to Review Dress Code After Pro-Trump Patches Seen on Uniforms” HERE)

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The U.S. Navy Is Making It Easier for Its Pilots to Report UFOs

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By The Blaze. The U.S. Navy is coming up with new guidelines that will make it easier for pilots and Navy personnel to report sightings of unidentified flying objects. . .

While these new guidelines that encourage reporting of unidentified objects may excite believers in extraterrestrials, they have nothing to do with alien spacecraft sightings. Rather, the Navy is concerned about aircraft it doesn’t know about entering U.S. military airspace.

In a statement to Politico, a spokesperson for the Navy explained, “There have been a number of reports of unauthorized and/or unidentified aircraft entering various military-controlled ranges and designated air space in recent years.”

This is especially problematic now that drones have become popular. In December, a drone entered the airspace of London’s Gatwick airport, causing panic and delays.

Being able to analyze these sightings could help to better detect the presence of hostile aircraft and other “hazards to aviation safety.” These UFO sightings happen often enough, Politico reported, that Navy leadership believes they can no longer be ignored. The Navy told Politico in a statement that it “takes these reports very seriously and investigates each and every report.” (Read more from “The U.S. Navy Is Making It Easier for Its Pilots to Report UFOs” HERE)

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Frustrated Pilots Got Navy to Stop Dismissing UFOs

By Daily News Philly. A recent uptick in sightings of unidentified flying objects — or, as the military calls them, “unexplained aerial phenomena” — prompted the U.S. Navy to draft formal procedures for pilots to document encounters, a corrective measure that former officials say is long overdue.

“Since 2014, these intrusions have been happening on a regular basis,” Joseph Gradisher, spokesman for the deputy chief of naval operations for information warfare, told the Washington Post on Wednesday. Recently, unidentified aircraft entered military-designated airspace as often as multiple times per month. “We want to get to the bottom of this. We need to determine who’s doing it, where it’s coming from, and what their intent is. We need to try to find ways to prevent it from happening again.” . . .

Luis Elizondo, a former senior intelligence officer, told the Post that the new Navy guidelines formalized the reporting process, facilitating data-driven analysis while removing the stigma from talking about UFOs, calling it “the single greatest decision the Navy has made in decades.” (Read more from “Frustrated Pilots Got Navy to Stop Dismissing UFOs” HERE)

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The U.S. Navy Is Developing Mothership Drones for Coastal Defense

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The U.S. Navy and researchers from Florida Atlantic University are developing robotic boats that can launch aerial and sub drones to protect U.S. coastal waters.

“Our focus will be on developing a multi-vehicle system that can safely and reliably navigate coastal waters with a high level of autonomy while performing assigned tasks,” Manhar Dhanak, director of SeaTech, the Institute for Ocean and Systems Engineering in FAU’s Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering, said in a press release.

The FAU researchers will develop new software tools for better sensing and collision avoidance as well as to allow the ship “to serve as a docking station” and power sub and air drones that latch onto it, according to a statement from the university. One aspect of the effort is developing software to help the surface vessel obtain a clear picture not just of obstacles to avoid but also friendly and hostile elements in the area, to help it better plan routes and paths for different missions.

It’s an example of the types of prototypes that will become more common, according to a Navy roadmap for the development and acquisition of autonomous systems. This Strategic Roadmap for Unmanned Systems, which began circulating around the Pentagon last year, has not yet been released. But a predecisional copy obtained by Defense One shows that the Navy is pushing to develop and buy its drones faster, integrate them more aggressively in exercises and other activity, and work more closely with universities and other non-traditional research partners particularly in the design of new prototypes.

The Navy’s research into unmanned weapons goes back to World War I research into flying munitions and torpedos. The term “drone” was coined in the 1930s by Cmdr. Delmar Fahrney, who was in charge of Navy research into radio-controlled aircraft. (Read more from “The U.S. Navy Is Developing Mothership Drones for Coastal Defense” HERE)

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Navy Moves to Approve Atheist Chaplain Who Attacked Billy Graham After Passing

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Within a week of re-assigning (and possibly firing) one chaplain for expressing traditionalist Christian beliefs, the Navy is seriously considering the approval of an avowed “non-theistic humanist” for a spot in its Chaplain Corps.

Conservative U.S. House and Senate members are formally urging the Navy not to approve the atheist for the post, noting the Navy can provide all sorts of other programs for non-believers without altering the mission of the long-established Chaplain Corps.

The secular-humanist applicant is Dr. Jason Heap – described by ConservativeHQ.com as a “militant atheist” – the executive director of the United Coalition of Reason who had sued the Navy in 2014 when it rejected his earlier application to become a Navy chaplain. . .

He and his supporters, including prominent atheist groups, say that non-theistic service members may need the confidentiality in seeking counseling that only a chaplaincy can provide.

And this time, the Navy Chaplain Appointment and Retention Eligibility Advisory group actually has recommended that Heap be approved. (Read more from “Navy Moves to Approve Atheist Chaplain Who Attacked Billy Graham After Passing” HERE)

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Navy Sends Destroyers to ‘Desensitize’ Russia

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The Navy has deployed the guided-missile destroyer Carney to join the destroyer Ross in the Black Sea in a move that U.S. military officials told CNN is intended to “desensitize” Russia to the presence of American military assets in the strategically important region.

The deployment of the Carney marks the first time in four years that two American destroyers have operated in the Black Sea outside of scheduled exercises. The move comes as Russia continues to militarize Crimea, the peninsula it seized from Ukraine in 2014.

In recent years, the U.S. and NATO have accused Russia of sending troops and military hardware to Crimea, and there are now reports that submarines have been added to the mix.

Nevertheless, U.S. and NATO officials have insisted that they are not playing tit-for-tat with the Russians.

“Our decision to have two ships simultaneously operate in the Black Sea is proactive, not reactive,” said Vice Adm. Christopher Grady, commander of 6th Fleet, which oversees U.S. naval operations in the region. “The continued presence of the U.S. Navy in the Black Sea demonstrates our enduring commitment to regional stability, maritime security of our Black Sea partners, and the collective defense of our NATO allies,” he added. (Read more from “Navy Sends Destroyers to ‘Desensitize’ Russia” HERE)

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