U.S. Air Force general says laser warfare in the sky is coming sooner than you think

Fighter jets may soon take enemies out of the sky using laser weapons. “That day is a lot closer than I think a lot of people think it is,” said U.S. Air Force General Hawk Carlisle at this week’s 2015 Air Force Association Air & Space conference.

Speaking at a presentation about what Carlisle calls “Fifth-Generation Warfare,” he told Ars Technica that the Air Force is looking for something like a laser cannon that can be mounted on fighter aircraft and other manned planes within the next five years. These “directed-energy pods” placed on aircraft could, ideally, stop enemy aircraft, drones, and missiles at a lower “cost per shot” than current missiles and guns.


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