*They touched upon the problem of fog/mist and dust in the air affecting the beam. But, didn't say anything concrete about this issue.
*Wonder if it can be used on ground targets? IMHO, the composite armor used on AFVs should give good protection. But, trucks, people, etc. should be crispy critters.
*The power generator is a viable target for enemies of this weapon.
I was confused by the anti ship to ship abilities they mentioned. I guess if you are looking to take out speed boats in a harbor, it's better then shooting the 18 inchers. But, it seems to have a line of site issue and we can shoot with pretty good accuracy over the horizon now.
5 inch is the biggest naval guns the US uses anymore. With the fully automated turrets and a shell coming out every 5 seconds, it ain't bad. 40mm, 20mm, and .50 cal are the other deck mounted guns used.
The value of using the lasers for point-blank defense is that there is no ammo. A savings of space, weight and no ammo bin to detonate in case of a hull penetration.
Is 5 inches really our biggest gun now? I knew we had retired the 18 inchers when Missouri was decommisioned, but I thought we still had larger guns for shore bombardment and the like. Have we turned all that over to missles?
Only the Japanese Yamato class (pre wave motion gun) and the British Courageous class battlecruisers were the only operational ships to carry an 18 incher gun.
Trivia note: When the Iowas were recommisioned and used in Gulf War Part 1, they were firing 16 inch shells manufactured in the late 1940's and early 1950's. The factory that made the ammo closed in the mid 1950's.
It is worth noting that the 16/50 cannons on the Iowa's were ballisticaly superior to the 18 inchers on the Yamoto class, with flatter trajectories, longer range and higher terminal velocity.
Two Iowas got partially built (Kentucky & Illinois), two get mothballed/scrapped (Iowa & Wisconsin), one gets turned into a tourist attraction (New Jersey) and the last one is part of a shrine (Missouri).
The Wisconsin is being prepped for Museaum work, the Iowa was suppossed to be berthed at San Francisco as a Museaum however the City leaders rejected it.
