Feasibility of High Energy Lasers for Maritime Interdiction

LTJG Carlos Romero, Peruvian Navy

Abstract: One of the greatest threats to Peru as a nation is the increasing amount of illicit activities in recent years. Among them all, drug trafficking causes the most damage within and outside of Peru’s borders. Therefore, interdiction of these activities is paramount for the Peruvian Navy, since this institution is responsible for all the bodies of water where Peru has jurisdiction. There are multiple ways to perform interdiction, but few of them can be done without damaging the people or cargo. High Energy Laser (HEL) weapons are an effective way to deliver energy precisely from a relative long range. This thesis studies the feasibility of the usage of this kind of weapon, fired from a surface or an unmanned aerial vehicle platform, against the water crafts that are used to deliver the illicit material from the Peruvian coast to a ship waiting offshore. Specifically, dwell times will be estimated to melt through vulnerable spots in the target for different HEL configurations ut.