@john
>Surely the rationale for the microwave weapons is that people run away if they get hit by it. But if you're on a speedboat, you can't get away unless you're the driver. And even then, it'd be pretty trivial to put a metal mesh in front of your windscreen and so shield yourself! Just like in a microwave oven, it's pretty easy to see through.
>Altogether, that sounds to me like a recipe for cooking any folk on the deck of the speedboat, as well as any innocent sailors encroaching on the ship who simply don't understand what's happening to them.
But if the speedboat just keeps coming despite the ray then you could make a good case for it to have displayed hostile intent and _then_ you could switch those CIWS (Close-In Weapon Stations) from standby to auto...
Useful to filter out the false positive idiot sightseers. And belive me, there are those stupid enough to make a high-speed approach on a warship in a narrow strait 'just for lulz'. Seen it myself. Although the escorting patrolboat with a very visible .50 cal. on the bow tried to intercept, the small speedboat evaded with ease and kept playing.. Good candidate for this 'piss off-ray'.
As the article states it's nice to have some more steps on the ladder of escalation than a loud-hailer and a .50 cal, so I'm all for it on naval vessels.