The era of laser warfare has arrived

Science fiction stories are replete with laser weapons. They are the weapon of choice in space, depicted as coloured beams of light shot like arrows at enemy spaceships to invariably turn the target into explosive debris, often with unscientific thunderous noise. Even land-based confrontations use laser pistols to shoot at enemies, again with immediate dramatic annihilation. The enemy is frequently vaporised, sometimes exploded or just eviscerated. These weapons have, however, remained science fiction until now.   

Israel, among many other countries, has been experimenting with so-called directed-energy weapons, laser guns, to destroy enemy projectiles, be they aircraft, missiles, or drones.  However, such laser weapons have remained experimental despite some successful testing. That has now changed. In the recent war between Hezbollah and Israel, Israel used its Iron Beam laser weapon to destroy incoming missiles and drones.  Despite some limitations, it was a valuable asset in preventing missile penetration into civilian areas. 

Israel's much-vaunted Iron Dome system has one major shortcoming: cost. The rockets used to destroy incoming missiles cost $50,000 each. This is a relatively expensive defence system because incoming drones may cost only a few hundred dollars.

However, Laser Weapons redress this imbalance. A single shot that can destroy an incoming drone costs only a few dollars of electric energy. This rebalances such warfare towards the defending side.

Given the widespread aerial attacks on Israel, this is a most welcome development. 

However, laser weapons will not be limited to defensive roles. They can be equally used for offence and no doubt they will be. 

For some more background on Israel's Iron Beam see Israel just used a laser weapon in combat - here's what happened!