Most of us have seen the massively popular science fiction blockbusters like Star Wars and Star Trek. A big part of the action set pieces of these films are the massive battle scenes. The bright colors and loud blasts of the laser weapons stimulate our minds and are a creative aspect of the distant future. But are we really that far off from utilizing lasers to fight our battles?

On December 10, 2014, The United States Navy announced that the Laser Weapon System (LaWS) was stationed successfully on a navy ship. It may not look like the Deathstar, but it is still an impressive looking piece of engineering.

Not only does the LaWS look the part, it also performs with deadly efficiency. Rear Admiral Matthew L. Klunder, the chief of naval research, offered some insight on the importance of laser weapons to the navy saying, “Laser weapons are powerful, affordable, and will play a vital role in the future of naval combat operations”. He goes on to talk about the specific weapons capabilities detailing, “We ran this particular weapon, a prototype, through some extremely tough paces, and it locked on and destroyed the targets we designated with near-instantaneous lethality”.

That “near-instantaneous lethality” can be viewed in this video posted by the US navy research official youtube channel.

However, the initial question was “Are Lasers the Future of Warfare”. Perhaps a new question to bring in is can we ethically use lasers in war?

               New Technologies and the Law of Armed Conflict describes how technologies are considered ethically. “In general terms, technologies which might be thought to lower the political cost of war may raise issues under jus ad bellum, while new military technologies that might be used in an indiscriminate manner or which might cause disproportionate harm (or perhaps cause harm in novel ways), may raise issues under jus in bello”(pg.89). The second part of this is important to consider, these laser weapons can be controlled with a video game like controller seen in the above video. Is this novelizing the use of the weapon? I think that is a possible situation considering how many new military technologies have been moving more towards the autonomous rather than human controlled.

The Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons from the United Nations at Geneva is also important to look at. The convention details weapons that are to be restricted from war due to their excessive injuries or indiscriminate effects they cause. One protocol of this convention lists “Blinding Laser Weapons”. Some form of laser weapons are already banned for military use. In the event that the LaWS would not kill a target, the burns and psychological damage the recipient would receive would be enough to harken back to the time of the atom bomb.
In summary, are lasers the future of warfare? I would say so. As technology and science advances, these kind of inventions are inevitably going to be created. If a nation wishes to be in a position of power, their scientific achievements are what guide them to their spot. The matter of how long they will remain the future of warfare is another matter completely.