Anybody have experience with laser weaponry?

I love this. Looks like another win for Lockheed Martin.

https://nypost.com/2025/02/04/us-news/incredible-photo-shows-us-navy-using-laser-weapon-dubbed-helios-from-warship/

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Incredible photo shows US Navy firing laser weapon dubbed 'Helios' from warship
By Emily Crane Published Feb. 4, 2025, 9:45 a.m. ET

A jaw-dropping new photo shows the US Navy firing off a drone-destroying laser weapon dubbed "Helios" from one of its warship.

The undated image, which was published in the US Center for Countermeasures' annual report this month, captured the warfighting laser technology being shot from the USS Preble destroyer in the middle of the ocean.

The demo was "to verify and validate the functionality, performance, and capability of the HEL with Integrated Optical Dazzler and Surveillance system against an unmanned aerial vehicle target," the report stated.

The report stopped short of providing specific details about the test including where, or when, the laser weapon was fired.

The Helios weapon, which uses a 60 kW high-energy laser that can engage targets at the speed of light, is an advanced directed energy system developed for the US by Lockheed Martin.

It obliterates targets including drones, fast-attack craft and missiles by melting or overheating them.

In addition to being used as a destructive laser, the weapon can also act as an optical dazzler in a bid to disrupt intelligence and reconnaissance sensors.

The United Kingdom successfully tested its own high-powered laser weapon dubbed DragonFire against aerial targets last year.

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The undated image, which was published in the US Center for Countermeasures' annual report this month, captured the warfighting laser technology being shot from the USS Preble destroyer in the middle of the ocean.CCM / SWNS

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It's not all roses. Here's some BACKGROUND.

"Generally, laser weapon systems are chronically over-hyped, especially in the mainstream media, compared to what they can realistically achieve. Laser weapons can only engage one target at a time and they need to dwell on that target steadily for a prolonged period to have an effect, especially lower power-class examples that are fielded today. They also have power and thermal limitations that impact how many shots they can fire back-to-back.

Their range is limited and impacted by atmospheric conditions and their components are delicate and hardening them for hash military use is an ongoing process. So, even in a naval sense, while they still are a very attractive capability, they are for low-volume point defense cases against very limited target sets for the foreseeable future."

We've come a long way: Somebody to Love-- A Historywave tribute to 20th Century Naval Warfare

No experience with lasers, but I worked on naval fire control somewhere around a hundred years ago. . Gunnery fire control is a very difficult problem in terms of aiming....
I am sure the requirements for laser weapons are much more difficult to achieve than the gunnery problem. Reading between the lines here they don't say anything about target speed. I suspect these are still "canned" exercises on relatively slow, "cooperative" target scenarios. I think if this technology was ready for prime time, it would be rushed into service. I do suspect that they, the Navy, might slowly start putting a few of these on some ships as they hit a shipyard period, while waiting for more mature technology for widespread adoption.

We're still a ways off from these being effective. They still need a lot of power and to stay locked on the target for a while before the effect is achieved. The US has made much progress in the past decades but we aren't on the precipice of needing less interceptors due to mature direct energy weapons. When you see them in the Red Sea taking out drones (instead of SMs and AIMs), you'll know the confidence is aligned with the press releases.

And while the output power is a problem, getting rid of the waste heat is just as big a problem. Current lasers aren't very efficient, and generate much more heat than they radiate.