Laser weapon

Laser weapons have begun to spread throughout NATO, as the German Navy has completed a year-long trial under realistic sea conditions of a 20-kW MBDA Deutschland/Rheinmetall Laser Weapon Demonstrator. It was installed aboard the frigate Sachsen.

In another step from the workbench to the battlefield, Raytheon UK is integrating its first high-energy 15-kW laser weapon into a Wolfhound armored vehicle for the British Army as part of the Ministry of Defence's Land Demonstrator laser program.

Northrop Grumman has delivered a miniaturized high-energy laser, called the Phantom, to the US government that points to future laser weapons that are not only powerful, but small and rugged enough for field combat.

Lockheed Martin is raising the bar on its 300-kW laser weapon system, announcing it is scaling it up to 500 kW under a new contract from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering (OUSD (R&E)).

Australia has joined the race to field a practical high-energy laser weapon. QinetiQ Australia has been awarded AU$$12.9 million (US$8.74 million) to develop a prototype with a twist – the goal is to build a laser that can take out main battle tanks.

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced that it successfully test fired Britain's first high-powered, long-range laser directed energy weapon (LDEW), called DragonFire, on October 17 at the Porton Down science park test range in Wiltshire.

Lockheed Martin has delivered its most powerful laser to date to the US military's Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering for installation in new laser weapon demonstrators designed to engage a variety of targets.

The US Navy has taken delivery of a near-operational high-energy tactical laser weapon called the High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance system from Lockheed Martin that can be installed in existing warships.

Using a 50-kW high-energy laser weapon, a US Army Stryker combat vehicle acquired, tracked, targeted, and defeated multiple 60-mm mortar rounds and other threats during four weeks of live-fire exercises at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

Rafael has successfully tested its Iron Beam laser weapon in various scenarios against steep-track threats, including UAVs, mortars, rockets, and anti-tank missiles. The weapon is set to complement Israel's famous Iron Dome aerial defense system

The US Navy has shot down its first drone representing a subsonic cruise missile using an all-electric high-energy laser. At White Sands, the Lockheed Martin Layered Laser Defense (LLD) weapon disabled the engine on a drone, which parachuted to earth.

Rheinmetall has unveiled its portable Skyranger 30 HEL air defense system that boasts a combination of a 30 mm automatic cannon, Short Range Air Defense missiles, and a high-energy laser to protect mobile units.