South Korea's Hanwha Systems-built Cheongwang laser downed two of four drones at its public debut, at 10,000 to 20,000 won of electricity a shot. Its 30-kilowatt Block I is rated for small North Korean drones at two to three kilometres, a narrower job than the US and Chinese lasers it is measured against.
Reality
- Evidence45
- Adoption40
- Hype gap+25
- Incentives
- Insufficient
- Confidence40
Admiral Daryl Caudle says the service will field containerized lasers on ships it already has while designing power, cooling and optics into future hulls, and he is leaving the beam-combining architecture to industry.
Reality
- Evidence44
- Adoption
- Insufficient
- Hype gap+28
- Incentives62
- Confidence52
An AVIC institute put a weight and a partly masked power figure on its fighter laser display in Beijing. The display masked the dynamic tracking accuracy, the figure that tells you whether the beam holds on a maneuvering missile.
Reality
- Evidence38
- Adoption14
- Hype gap+42
- Incentives66
- Confidence45
Huntington Ingalls and EO Solutions received a $3.8 million agreement in June for a marinized counter-drone laser. A defense official told Laser Wars the money is likely for experimentation with a system that already exists.
Reality
- Evidence55
- Adoption20
- Hype gap+5
- Incentives45
- Confidence48
Xcimer took investment from RTX Ventures and Pacific Fusion signed an agreement with the NNSA. TechCrunch's reporting shows defense interest landing on machines that already exist, with both plant programs still running.
Reality
- Evidence52
- Adoption34
- Hype gap+12
- Incentives74
- Confidence55
The round is led by Vsquared, but the interesting cheque is Florian Seibel's personal one, sitting beside a corporate stake from Quantum Systems in a laser the reporting says may one day compete with its own products.
Reality
- Evidence30
- Adoption6
- Hype gap+30
- Incentives80
- Confidence45
AV's $464.8M award covers 26 thirty-kilowatt LOCUST X3 units over five years, and the requirement underneath it says a minute of full-power lasing buys up to four minutes of waiting before the next one.
Reality
- Evidence62
- Adoption55
- Hype gap+24
- Incentives62
- Confidence58
AeroVironment's $464.8m Enduring-HEL award covers dozens of 30-kilowatt LOCUST X3 units. The step that made the purchase possible was a Department of War safety agreement with the FAA, signed before anyone fired.
Reality
- Evidence48
- Adoption58
- Hype gap+18
- Incentives74
- Confidence55
AeroVironment's two 20kW-class LOCUST prototypes cleared government acceptance testing at Yuma and went through new equipment training at Fort Sill, which finally gives counter-drone planners a delivered mobile system to price against interceptors.
Reality
- Evidence38
- Adoption31
- Hype gap+37
- Incentives81
- Confidence48
ONR's $10.25 million draft solicitation treats the laser source and the beam director as separate products joined by fiber. That moves value into connectors, transport, and interface specs.
Reality
- Evidence48
- Adoption12
- Hype gap+6
- Incentives58
- Confidence44
ThinKom's Alecto contract funds one of four prototypes, with field testing in 2027. The hard requirement is not the microwave itself, it is engaging drones without halting the vehicle.
Reality
- Evidence28
- Adoption14
- Hype gap+42
- Incentives72
- Confidence44