Japan has deployed a system that fires laser beams with 100 kilowatts of energy — powerful enough to disable small drones. It was installed on board a 6,200-ton (6.3 million kg) warship.
The weapon combines 10 lasers (each 10 kW in power) into a single 100 kW beam, giving it enough focused power to burn through metal surfaces. It is a fiber laser, meaning the beam is generated by light being amplified and focused as it travels through a solid-state optical fiber doped with rare earth elements. Engineers designed this system specifically to shoot down drones, mortar rounds and other lightweight airborne threats.
