The chief of U.S. naval operations, Adm. Daryl Caudle, is advocating for powerful lasers aboard the newfangled Trump-class battleship, which is also expected to wield nuclear and hypersonic weapons.

The dream of laser weapons has not materialized nearly as fast as the Pentagon once thought it would, but the Navy's top ...

Laser weapons go mobile as the US Army takes delivery of two 20-kW, anti-drone Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV)-mounted Laser-Oriented Counter-UAS System (LOCUST) Laser Weapon Systems (LWS) from ...

From battlefield defense to crowd control, directed-energy weapons are no longer science fiction. These four real-world laser systems reveal how militaries are reshaping combat using light instead of ...

The takeaway: The US Army's latest counter-drone weapon works less like a missile and more like a bug zapper. Mounted on tactical vehicles, the Locust laser reflects how directed-energy systems have ...

Israeli officials stand in front of an Iron Beam (Or Eitan) laser weapon during the system's official handover to the IDF at Rafael's headquarters. (Rafael Advanced Defense Systems) The Israel Defense ...

The German division of missile firm MBDA Systems and arms maker Rheinmetall have agreed to establish a new joint-venture company specializing in laser weapons. Initially focused on ship-based systems ...

The Iron Beam laser system is now being fielded by Israel. (Israel Ministry of Defense) JERUSALEM – Israel has officially conscripted its new SIGMA 155 self-propelled howitzer and Iron Beam laser ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Peter Suciu covers trends in the world of aerospace and defense. On Saturday, the U.S. Navy's USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) aided in the ...

President Donald Trump scrambled Navy ship-naming traditions last week with his announcement of a new “Trump-class” battleship, to be called the USS Defiant, featuring nuclear-tipped missiles and ...

In late December 2025, the U.S. Navy announced plans to pursue a new class of large surface combatants described as Trump-class battleships, marking the first time in decades the service has publicly ...