Supposedly the system is also highly scalable so it can be adapted to different sized surface combatants, although there would likely be a tradeoff in range and strength based on how the mount is configured. One also has to wonder if this type of system could be mounted on commercial vessels as a less-than-lethal option for dealing with piracy. If this can zap a go-fast's engine at a decent distance it could be a way for vulnerable merchant vessels to defend themselves without having to carry traditional weaponry.

It's hard to image that the US Navy, and other navies as well, wouldn't be interested in this system. The fact that it could be installed on existing or additional Mk38 mounts makes it very attractive as its basic infrastructure is already a known commodity and in the inventory. Above all else it bridges the gap between the Navy's potent electronic warfare suites deployed on its surface combatants and kinetic CIWS options, while also offering a less than lethal option for the increasingly troublesome issue of fending off potential small boat attacks.

High-powered microwave weapons have a lot of promise, and potential peer-state competitors are actively pursuing the technology, but they remain in the shadowy fringes of military capabilities. Most recently there was big talk and a lot of confusion about the possibility of using the USAF's still experimental microwave pulse equipped cruise missile against North Korea's ballistic missiles, and there has long been talk about systems with similar capabilities as those described by BAE Systems being used on clandestine aerial platforms in war zones in the Middle East and Africa. Even powerful AESA radar sets that are becoming widespread on modern combat aircraft are known to have a secondary non-kinetic attack capability, where their high-power pencil-sized beams of electromagnetic energy could be used to fry enemy missile and air defense-related electronics. So clearly there is something to this technology, but we'll have to see if the Navy will foot the bill to find out how to adapt it as a primary weapon system deployed in a harsh naval environment. But it is worth noting that the service has been willing to do so aggressively with similar weapons concepts in the recent past.

We also really don't know exactly how effective this can be over various ranges and against different targets, and how vulnerable hardened military platforms would be to such a system. But even if it is only effective against small boats and drones, and less rugged aircraft and some missiles, it would be a major breakthrough in CIWS capability.

Regardless of the state and capabilities of BAE Systems' particular concept, microwave CIWS capability represents an exciting proposition and it is probably just a matter of when, not if, such a system becomes a fixture on American fighting ships.

Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com