India Unveils Laser Weapon, Enters Select League: DRDO

India on Sunday tested a locally produced laser weapon and demonstrated its capability to knock out fixed-wing drones at long range, swarm drones, and surveillance equipment, entering an exclusive league of countries that possess such technology, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said.

- Rahul Singh

NEW DELHI:

The successful trial of the directed energy weapon (DEW) system with a 30-kilowatt laser was carried out at the National Open Air Range in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh.

"The lightning speed of engagement, the precision and the lethality delivered at the target within a few seconds made it the most potent counter-drone system," the DRDO said in a statement. The few countries that have mastered this technology to disable missiles, drones and smaller projectiles include the US, Russia, China, the UK, Germany and Israel.

The DRDO's Hyderabad-based Centre for High Energy Systems and Sciences (Chess) has developed the system along with some other government laboratories, academic institutions and private industry.