---
title: "The US Navy Wants to Arm Nuclear Submarines With Laser Cannons"
description: "The US Navy is looking to arm nuclear submarines with high-energy laser weapons, according to Popular Mechanics. It won't reveal why."
date: "2020-02-05"
modified: "2020-02-05"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/us-navy-arm-nuclear-submarines-laser-cannons"
categories:
  - "Energy"
  - "Nuclear Fusion"
  - "Renewable Energy"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "laser"
  - "laser weapons"
  - "Navy"
  - "submarines"
  - "the digest"
---

# The US Navy Wants to Arm Nuclear Submarines With Laser Cannons

![The US Navy is looking to arm nuclear submarines with high-energy laser weapons, according to Popular Mechanics. It won't reveal why.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/navy-arm-nuclear-submarines-laser-cannons.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: US Navy/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Laser Sub

The US Navy is planning to arm nuclear submarines with high-energy laser weapons, [according to *Popular Mechanics*](<https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/navy-ships/a30647372/laser-nuclear-subs/>).

But there's just one problem, according to the magazine: Laser weapons basically don't work underwater, where laser light scatters and gets absorbed almost immediately.

## Top Secret

While public documents reveal certain details about the designs the Navy has been testing since at least 2011, the Navy has remained tight-lipped about the execution or purpose of such a system, *PopMech* reports. One theory, according to the magazine*,* is that the Navy plans to integrate the lasers into the submarines' periscopes and use them as surface weapons.

"High-energy lasers can disable the guidance systems on drones and ignite the fuel and munitions on small boats like the Iranian Boghammars," Sidharth Kaushal, research fellow at international defence think tank Royal United Services Institute, told *PopMech.*

## Laser Cannons

It wouldn't be the US military's first foray into laser weapons. Among other efforts, the Navy has [already installed](<https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/new-lasers-are-keeping-us-navy-front-pack-118316>) a laser cannon on one of its destroyers, the US Army has [signed contracts](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/us-military-laser-weapon-100-kilowatt>) to design a military truck-mounted laser weapon, and the Air Force is [testing laser weapons](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/air-force-tested-laser-weapon-fighter-jets>) for fighter jets.

Based on [upgrade documents](<https://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/virginia-block-iii-the-revised-bow-04159/>), the upcoming laser system won't be mounted on Navy submarines for at least another three years, according to *PopMech*.

**READ MORE:** [The Navy Is Arming Nuclear Subs With Lasers. No One Knows Why.](<https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/navy-ships/a30647372/laser-nuclear-subs/>) \[*Popular Mechanics*\]

**More on laser weapons:** *[The U.S. Military Is Buying a $130 Million Laser Weapon](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/us-military-laser-weapon-100-kilowatt>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)