The Laser Avenger

At the same time as that series of Matrix tests in 2009, the separate, Boeing-funded Laser Avenger also shot down a UAV. The Humvee-mounted Laser Avenger was derived from the existing Avenger platform, which typically carries more traditional "kinetic" weapons, including Stinger antiaircraft missiles and a .50-caliber machine gun. On this test occasion in 2009, Boeing also test-fired a 25mm machine gun from the Laser Avenger platform -- the notion being, apparently, that if you can't hit the target one way, there's always backup.

In 2007, an earlier version of Laser Avenger showed off its prowess -- in tests -- at neutralizing IEDs and unexploded ordnance on the ground.