Asger Risom
The U.S. Navy has equipped nine destroyers with operational laser weapon systems as military planners search for cheaper and more sustainable ways to counter drones and missile attacks in modern naval warfare.
The U.S. Navy has now equipped nine destroyers with operational laser weapon systems as military planners look for cheaper ways to counter drones, missiles and swarm attacks without burning through increasingly expensive missile stockpiles.
The deployment marks one of the clearest signs yet that directed energy weapons are moving beyond experimental testing and becoming part of frontline naval warfare.
Why the Navy wants lasers
According to The War Zone, the Navy has installed laser systems aboard nine Arleigh Burke-class destroyers as part of a broader push to reduce reliance on costly single-use interceptors.
Modern naval warfare has exposed a growing imbalance between cheap offensive drones and the extremely expensive missiles often used to shoot them down.
Operations in the Red Sea, strikes against Iran-backed forces and the ongoing war in Ukraine have all intensified concerns about how quickly advanced missile stockpiles can be depleted during prolonged conflicts.
Destroyers are especially vulnerable to this problem.
Even heavily armed vessels are limited by the number of missiles they can physically carry inside their vertical launch systems, while reloading can only happen at properly equipped ports.
Laser weapons offer a different model entirely.
As long as ships can generate enough power, lasers effectively provide a reusable defensive system with a dramatically lower cost per shot.
The two laser systems now at sea
The Navy is currently deploying two primary directed energy systems.
The first is ODIN — short for Optical Dazzling Interdictor, Navy — which uses a lower-powered laser designed to blind or disrupt enemy sensors, cameras and drone guidance systems.
Rather than physically destroying targets, ODIN works by confusing electro-optical and infrared tracking systems used by drones and incoming weapons.
Eight destroyers have received ODIN systems so far.
Two of those vessels, USS Spruance and USS John Finn, are currently operating in the Middle East amid heightened tensions involving Iran.
A laser that can burn through targets
The second system, HELIOS, is significantly more powerful.
Installed aboard USS Preble, the 60-kilowatt laser is capable of physically damaging drones and small attack craft by burning through targets directly.
The system also integrates with the Navy’s Aegis Combat System, allowing laser weapons to work alongside traditional missile defenses.
According to The War Zone, Lockheed Martin has already discussed scaling HELIOS up to 150 kilowatts in future iterations.
During previous testing, the Navy successfully used the system to disable multiple incoming drones.
The future — and the limits
Despite rapid progress, laser weapons still face major technical limitations.
Unlike missiles, lasers require sustained contact with a target to inflict damage, making them less effective against fast-moving or heavily maneuvering threats.
Weather also remains a major obstacle.
Fog, rain, dust and atmospheric distortion can dramatically weaken laser performance, while thermal buildup and power constraints limit rapid successive shots.
Still, military planners increasingly view directed energy as a critical layer in future naval defense systems — especially as drone warfare reshapes modern combat.
The technology may not replace missiles anytime soon.
But for the first time, laser weapons are no longer science fiction prototypes.
They are now operating aboard frontline American warships.
Sources: The War Zone
