A Chinese defence supplier has unveiled a portable laser weapon that can shoot down drones from the sky, according to reports.
Harbin Xinguang Optic-Electronics Technology demonstrated the technology, which can be carried in a backpack, at an arms fair in Beijing last week, South China Morning Post reported.
High-powered lasers are increasingly used to defend against weaponised drones, as they are more efficient and have a much lower cost per shot than traditional munitions.
Until now, the high energy and cooling requirements have meant that anti-drone lasers have been too cumbersome to be carried by a single person.
The new portable Lijian models, meaning “sharp swords”, use artificial intelligence to identify targets and have already been deployed at some Chinese military facilities.
Each one weighs around 25 kilograms and have a range of around 500 metres, which is around half that of fixed-position models.
Despite the limited range, they are able to burn through a drone in just four seconds and need less than five seconds to cool down before being fired again.
The units are “easier to operate and can be quickly deployed and recovered,” Harbin Xinguang Optic-Electronics Technology told SCMP.
In March, the US military reported a large number of “unidentified drones” over a US Air Force base in Louisiana, prompting discussions of deploying anti-drone laser systems.
The UK has announced plans to fit four warships with its DragonFire laser weapon next year in order to better protect against drone attacks.
The defence tactic has become increasingly popular in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in 2022, with the development of drones, lasers and ground robots completely reshaping modern warfare.
“Lasers and microwaves make drones cheap to defeat, not to mention EW (electronic warfare) interrupting drones as well,” Lt Col Jahara Matisek told The Independent in September.
“[Laser weapons] offer speed-of-light precision and deep magazines but struggle in fog, rain, or smoke and demands significant power and cooling.”
Read MoreHow a giant ‘disco ball’ could turn Kazakhstan into an unlikely AI superpower
