United States Navy successfully tests laser weapon on aircraft

The United States Navy succesfully shot down four aircraft with the "Laser Weapon System." The successful test was conducted off the California coast.

Working with independent contractor Raytheon, the United States Navy successfully used a laser to shoot down four unmanned aircraft in the pacific ocean. According to CBS News, the technology is a product of the "Star Wars" missile defense program initiated by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. The solid-state laser completely destroyed the four UAVs, according to Raytheon. "We actually shot down four of four operational UAVs. They were all destroyed and crashed into the sea," said Mike Booen, Raytheon’s vice president of Advanced Security and Directed Energy Systems, in a press release. A video of the test was released today at the Farnborough International Air Show in England, but the test was conducted in May. Scientific American calls this a "significant step in a decades-long quest undertaken by the U.S. military and several defense contractors to bring lasers to the battlefield." Booen also told USA Today it was a "good day for lasers, bad day for drones."