The US Navy Just Tested a Laser Weapon That Could Change Warfare Forever This is a 60kw laser, and around 100kw is about as powerful as you might ask for, because laser beams just don't travel that far through air. There may be ways around that limitation, but don't expect anyone to talk about it anytime soon. About five miles is the best anyone claims, and that's the US. The article claims an unlimited rate of fire and, although this photograph shows a solid beam, such weapons can fire nanosecond pulses, and move on to the next target. The sheer amount of concentrated energy that hits the target, can literally punch holes in it, or slice and dice for all I know. Anyway, the navy has already installed less powerful systems on many ships, and this is the first one intended for cruise missiles and the like, but can adapt its firepower to smaller targets. What they really want, is a solid state laser with picosecond response and, after that, the physics could get very interesting, and heavily classified. Basically, someone finally proved all our thermodynamics don't mean shit at higher temperatures like these, and its unexplored territory. Recently, someone put a rather powerful particle accelerator on a chip, blowing everybody's mind, and forcing a rethink of all their designs, and it's entirely possible the next generation of lasers like this will be so portable you can carry them around, or integrate them into cheap drones. The US has already developed the technology to recharge an arbitrary number of drones with lasers, simultaneously. Imagine flying cars, that are all constantly recharged using invisible laser beams, and you've just scratched the surface.
