Questions that remain to be answered are:
1. What percentage of Qassam rocket flight time is within the laser’s 1.2 mile kill radius?
2. How does the laser system handle salvos of Qassams?
3. How much does one of those laser systems cost? Initial and Support?
4. What is its operational availability?
1: 100%, provided you put your laser in place as high value target defence.
2: In rapid succession, I would think. The beam can reach its target at the speed of light and can track fast-moving targets.
3: The weapon: quite a lot. The laser prototype cost just under $32 million, officials said. BUT if the weapon proves itself during its sea trials, and the order is given to buy the laser system for service across the fleet, the price per unit is expected to drop. BUT ALSO, … Among the advantages cited in the study for Congress was the low cost — less than $1 per sustained pulse — of using a high-energy laser against certain targets. By comparison, current short-range air-defense interceptor missiles cost up to $1.4 million each. The laser weapon also has a limitless supply of ammunition — pulses of high energy — so long as the ship can generate electricity.
4: The laser will not be operational until next year,
5: Among the limitations, according to the research service, is that lasers are not effective in bad weather because the beam can be disturbed or scattered by water vapor, as well as by smoke, sand and dust. It is also a “line of sight” weapon, meaning that the target has to be visible, so it cannot handle threats over the horizon. And enemies can take countermeasures like coating vessels and drones with reflective surfaces.
See http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/09/world/navy-deploying-laser-weapon-prototype-in-persian-gulf.html?_r=0
http://orbitalvector.com/Firearms/Laser%20Countermeasures/Laser%20Countermeasures.htm
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