U.S. Navy Fires Laser Weapon in Mideast Amid Drone Boat Threat

The U.S. Navy announced Wednesday it tested a laser weapon and destroyed a floating target in the Mideast, a system that could be used to counter bomb-laden drone boats deployed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea. The test Tuesday saw the USS Portland test-fire its Laser Weapon System Demonstrator at the target in the Gulf of Aden, the body of water separating East Africa from the Arabian Peninsula. The Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet described the laser as having “successfully engaged the target” in a statement. Previously, the USS Portland (LPD 27)  used the laser to bring down a…