"The US Navy has been operating a High Energy Laser (HEL) weapon in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea since the summer of 2014. The system, afloat on the forward staging base (interim) – USS Ponce (AFSB(I) 15) is the first laser weapon system operationally deployed by the US military. Currently at a prototype stage, the system has been fielded to evaluate the capabilities of Solid State Laser-(SSL) in a Quick Reaction Capability (QRC) demonstration."