Laser Weapon

A laser weapon is a type of directed-energy weapon that uses lasers to inflict damage. Whether they will be deployed as practical, high-performance military weapons remains to be seen. One of the major issues with laser weapons is atmospheric thermal blooming, which is still largely unsolved. This issue is exacerbated when there is fog, smoke, dust, rain, snow, smog, foam, or purposely dispersed obscurant chemicals present. In essence, a laser generates a beam of light that requires clear air or a vacuum to operate.

Many types of laser have been identified as having the potential to be used as incapacitating non-lethal weapons. They can cause temporary or permanent vision loss when directed at the eyes. The extent, nature, and duration of visual impairment resulting from exposure to laser light depend on various factors, such as the laser's power, wavelength(s), collimation of the beam, orientation of the beam, and duration of exposure. Even lasers with a power output of less than one watt can cause immediate and permanent vision loss under certain conditions, making them potentially non-lethal but incapacitating weapons. However, the use of such lasers is morally controversial due to the extreme handicap that laser-induced blindness represents. The Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons bans the use of weapons designed to cause permanent blindness. Weapons designed to cause temporary blindness, known as dazzlers, are used by military and sometimes law enforcement organizations. Incidents of pilots being exposed to lasers while flying have prompted aviation authorities to implement special procedures to deal with such hazards.

Laser weapons capable of directly damaging or destroying a target in combat are still in the experimental stage. The general idea of laser-beam weaponry is to hit a target with a train of brief pulses of light. The United States Navy has tested the very short-range (1 mile), 30- kW Laser Weapon System or LaWS to be used against targets like small UAVs, rocket-propelled grenades, and visible motorboat or helicopter engines. It has been described as "six welding lasers strapped together." A 60 kW system, HELIOS, is being developed for destroyer-class ships . India's DRDO successfully tested a 30 kW Directed Energy Weapon (DEW), designated Mk-II (A) DEW, in April 2025 which can annihilate drones at a range of 5 km.

Laser-based missile and air defense systems

Laser-based directed-energy weapons have been under development for defense purposes, particularly for the destruction of incoming missiles. One such example is the Boeing Airborne Laser, constructed inside a Boeing 747 and designated as the YAL-1. This system was designed to eliminate short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles during their boost phase. It was canceled in 2012.

Another laser-based defense system was researched for the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI, nicknamed "Star Wars") and its successor programs. This project aimed to employ ground-based or space-based laser systems to destroy incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). However, various practical challenges, such as directing a laser over a large distance through the atmosphere, complicated the implementation of these systems. Optical scattering and refraction would bend and distort the laser beam, making it difficult to aim and reducing its efficiency.

A related concept from the SDI project was the nuclear-pumped X-ray laser, an orbiting atomic bomb surrounded by laser media in the form of glass rods. When the bomb detonated, the rods would be exposed to highly-energetic gamma-ray photons, causing spontaneous and stimulated emission of X-ray photons within the rod atoms. This process would result in optical amplification of the X-ray photons, generating an X-ray laser beam that would be minimally affected by atmospheric distortion and capable of destroying ICBMs in flight. However, the X-ray laser would be a single-use device, as it would destroy itself upon activation. Some initial tests of this concept were conducted with underground nuclear testing, but the results were not promising. Research into this approach to missile defense was discontinued after the SDI program was canceled.

Iron Beam

Iron Beam is a laser-based air defense system which was unveiled at the Singapore Airshow on February 11, 2014 by Israeli defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. The system is designed to destroy short-range rockets, artillery, and mortar bombs; it has a range of up to , too close for the Iron Dome system to intercept projectiles effectively. In addition, the system could also intercept unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).RAFAEL Develops a New High Energy Laser Weapon , Defense Update:
/ref> Iron Beam will constitute the sixth element of Israel's integrated air defense system, in addition to Arrow 2, Arrow 3, David's Sling, Barak 8, and Iron Dome.

Iron Beam uses a fiber laser to destroy an airborne target. Whether acting as a stand-alone system or with external cueing as part of an air-defense system, a threat is detected by a surveillance system and tracked by vehicle platforms in order to engage.

Iron Beam is expected to be operational by the end of 2025.

Anti-drone systems

In the 21st century, several countries have developed anti-drone laser systems to counter the increasing threat of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These systems are designed to detect, track, and destroy drones using high-powered lasers, offering a cost-effective and flexible solution for airspace protection.

In the United States, Lockheed Martin demonstrated the capabilities of its ATHENA laser system in 2017, which uses a 30-kilowatt ALADIN laser to target and destroy UAVs. Another American company, Raytheon, developed the High-Energy Laser Weapon System (HELWS) in 2019, which is capable of detecting and destroying drones at a distance of up to three kilometers.

Turkey has also invested in the development of laser weapons, with companies like Roketsan producing the ALKA system, which combines laser and electromagnetic weapons to incapacitate and destroy single or group targets. Other Turkish companies, such as Aselsan and TUBITAK BILGEM, have also demonstrated laser systems capable of targeting small UAVs and explosive devices.

Germany is another leader in the development of combat laser systems, with defense company Rheinmetall working on stationary and mobile versions of its High Energy Laser (HEL) system since the 2000s. Rheinmetall's lasers are designed to protect against a variety of threats, including small and medium-sized UAVs, helicopters, missiles, mines, and artillery shells.

Israel has also been actively developing laser weapons, with companies like Rafael Advanced Defense Systems demonstrating the compact Drone Dome system in 2020, which is designed to destroy UAVs and their swarms. Another Israeli system, called Light Blade, was developed by OptiDefense to counter terrorist threats such as mini UAVs and explosive devices attached to balloons or kites.

The development and deployment of these anti-drone laser systems show the increasing importance of protecting airspace from emerging threats, while also providing a cost-effective and flexible solution for defense forces around the world.

First announced in December 2024, on 13 April 2025, the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces released the first footage of a laser weapon system, called “Tryzub”, in use destroying a fibre optic fpv drone. It is fitted into the back of a van and can be used against ground targets.

On 16 May 2025, Ukraine revealed a small laser turret called SlimBean, fitted to a Remote controlled weapon station, capable of blinding optical sensors at 2 km and destroying drones at 800 meters. It can be remotely operated by “web based system” to reduce the risk to the operators of enemy fire. It also could be used for sabotage by targeting various locks or other objects.

Electrolaser

An electrolaser first ionizes its target path, and then sends an electric current down the conducting track of ionized plasma, somewhat like lightning. It functions as a giant, high-energy, long-distance version of the Taser or stun gun.

Pulsed energy projectile

Pulsed Energy Projectile or PEP systems emit an infrared laser pulse which creates rapidly expanding plasma at the target. The resulting sound, shock and electromagnetic waves stun the target and cause pain and temporary paralysis. The weapon is under development and is intended as a non-lethal weapon in crowd control though it can also be used as a lethal weapon.

Dazzler

A dazzler is a directed-energy weapon intended to temporarily blind or disorient its target with intense directed radiation. Targets can include sensors or human vision. Dazzlers emit infrared or invisible light against various electronic sensors, and visible light against humans, when they are intended to cause no long-term damage to eyes. The emitters are usually lasers, making what is termed a ''laser dazzler''. Most of the contemporary systems are man-portable, and operate in either the red (a laser diode) or green (a diode-pumped solid-state laser, DPSS) areas of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Initially developed for military use, non-military products are becoming available for use in law enforcement and security.

The personnel halting and stimulation response rifle (PHASR) is a prototype non-lethal laser dazzler developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Directed Energy Directorate, U.S. Department of Defense. Its purpose is to temporarily disorient and blind a target. Blinding laser weapons have been tested in the past, but were banned under the 1995 United Nations Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons, which the United States acceded to on 21 January 2009. The PHASR rifle, a low-intensity laser, is not prohibited under this regulation, as the blinding effect is intended to be temporary. It also uses a two-wavelength laser. The PHASR was tested at Kirtland Air Force Base, part of the Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate in New Mexico.
* ZM-87
* PY132A is a Chinese anti-drone dazzler.
* Soviet laser pistol was a prototype weapon designed for cosmonauts.
* Optical Dazzling Interdictor, Navy (AN/SEQ-4 ODIN) is a U.S. laser to be field tested in 2019 on an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.

Examples

Leading Western companies in the development of laser weapons have been Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, Rheinmetall and MBDA

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