Maritime Laser Demonstrator

Of the several military branches, the U.S. Navy may be the best positioned at the moment to field an actual laser weapon. What you see here is the proof-of-concept Maritime Laser Demonstrator, designed and built by Northrop Grumman at the behest of the Office of Naval Research. This solid-state laser system successfully scorched a small boat in tests in early 2011, and now the Navy is seeking proposals to build new prototypes; those proposals are due in mid-October.

“We are in the process of developing a laser weapon prototype for the naval surface fleet to counter small unmanned aerial vehicles and small-boat threats,” Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder said in a statement in August.