Canadian Navy Could Use Space and Lasers to Battle Pirates on the High Seas
By Justin Ling
February 10, 2016 | 8:45 am
Canada is looking to get serious about patrolling the high seas, and that means fighting pirates.
A new report from a government research office says that, to do so, Canada should invest in lasers, spy satellites, and drones.
The idea isn't as crazy as it sounds.
Canada already does a fair bit of aquatic policing, busting cocaine smugglers in the Caribbean and running counter-terrorism and anti-piracy operations in and around the Indian Sea and in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia. An aging naval fleet has made this mission increasingly difficult.
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"The emergence of more powerful lasers to destroy incoming target may also be worthy of consideration, not least because of the alleged cost-effectiveness of such systems," writes Rudd.
While the report says that lasers might not function well in fog, rain, or sea spray, it adds that the US Navy has used similar lasers and that each shot from the weapon "costs less than a dollar."
In cutting costs, it also notes that high-power spy satellites can "empower smaller fleets to cover a wide ocean space."
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