Raise shields, go to red alert

Navy searching for defense against directed energy weapons (DEW). [Link]

The Office of Naval Research recently asked scientists and gadget-makers to send in their ideas for projects that will “form the foundation” for tomorrow’s “Counter Directed Energy Weapons (CDEW).” High energy lasers, “high power microwave transmitters, particle beam weapons [and] high power electromagnetic frequency pulsed weapons systems” are all on the Navy’s list of blasters that might need to be stopped, some day. But, as you’d expect, the Navy’s geeks are particularly keen on trying to stop the ray guns that might “threat[en] … naval ship platforms, underwater systems, aviation systems and/or weapons systems.” The Navy is also looking to “counte[r] or negat[e]” the blasters’ effects on “troops or civilian personnel.”