Directed Energy

Directed Energy ranks 7th in the list of Future Weapons of Mass Destruction. PHASER is not the only direct energy weapon in the military's arsenal today. This broad phrase include weapons such as electro-magnetics, lasers, and microwaves. Between 2017 and 2019, the US military increased its investment on direct energy weapons research. That figure has risen to $1.1 billion. Of course, China and Russia are also heavily investing in these systems.

The advantages of deploying direct energy weapons versus conventional munitions are quite obvious. To begin with, they operate at the speed of light. In contrast to a regular missile, which may take some time to travel from source to target, a direct energy blast will reach a target practically instantly. They may also be targeted much more precisely. If you choose, you can use a laser to blast someone in the foot from space. The weapons are also scalable, allowing them to take on a single tiny target or a much greater region as needed.

In May 2020, the US Navy published video of the USS Portland killing a drone with a high-energy class solid state laser. The military is also working on the Indirect Fire Protection Capability High Energy Laser, which is reported to be ten times more powerful than the one used by the Navy. This laser would be capable of destroying incoming cruise missiles, crippling boats and helicopters, and blinding opposing fighters.

Because these weapons are fuelled by electricity, they are significantly more cost-effective in the long term than utilizing billion-dollar bombs. A laser costs around $10 in energy to fire. You always have ammunition as long as you have electricity. However, if you are using lasers to attack, the adversary will never have to wait for you to reload or run out of ammunition.