Holes burnt in metal

Another laser project under way at Northrop Grumman is the Firestrike. Earlier this year in its Redondo Beach, Calif., laboratory, the defense contractor lit up a Firestrike demonstrator laser called Gamma to show what a laser weapon could do to the skin and critical components of a cruise missile that might threaten U.S. Navy ships. (Or in this test case, to the skin and components of a surplus drone standing in for a cruise missile.) The pair of photos above show the damage done.

The 13.3-kilowatt Gamma laser was tested at a beam quality of 1.4, exceeding the design goal of 1.5. (Perfection in laser beams merits a 1.)