As the arsenals of modern warfare keep moving into fascinating and uncharted territories at breakneck speed, one of the most intriguing technologies that keep captivating people’s imaginations around the world is directed-energy weapons.After centuries of relying on kinetic solutions that require a projectile to be launched into a target, the idea of having a focused laser beam or a microwave blast neutralizing it at unspeakable speeds and without the need for munition has proven mind-blowing.Despite the technology’s promising nature, its developers have found one obstacle after another in their quest to polish it enough to be effectively used on the battlefield.But at least one of those obstacles appears to have been surpassed recently, as Lockheed Martin announced on January of 2023 that DEIMOS, their laser weapon system that will be mounted on a Stryker combat vehicle, has achieved the first light, meaning that the laser’s optical performance parameters align with the system design requirements.As such, it looks as though combat-ready laser weapons will enter the world’s battlefields sooner than expected…