To Shoot down aircraft with gigantic lasers has been a sci-fi dream for ages, but now, Raytheon has a functioning anti-aircraft laser that can actually take planes out of the sky.
Dubbed the Laser Close-In Weapon System, Raytheon recently unveiled the new laser at an airshow in England. Using a 50 kilowatt beam, it's been tested against unmanned aircraft with great success. You wouldn't want to be targeted by this thing, that's for sure.
It's currently being incorporated into the Navy's anti-missile defense system by the company, so it's likely that we'll start seeing laser-based warfare in the very near future.
