Let there be Laser Cannons......

[Gingerbread Demon]

https://www.wired.com/story/lockheed-martin-fighter-jets-lasers/


Cool stuff. And they have a dune buggy that can shoot down drones. I wonder how big the laser on the buggy is and if it hinders performance. Being solid state I can't imagine it being that large.

Love this technology.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

I believe the US also intend equipping drones with these lasers - potentially to shoot down North Korean missiles while they're still in boost phase. Very difficult to tell that such attacks from a missile failure if the laser beam is fired in the upper atmosphere where scattering by dust and water vapour do not scatter the beam and make it visible. Of course, adding a silvered or ablative coating to the missile surface would be possible defenses.