'Star Wars Capability': India Joins Elite Club With Successful Test Of Laser Weapon That Can Neutralise Aircraft, Missiles And Swarm Drones

In a first, India has successfully showcased its capability to neutralise aerial threats including fixed-wing aircraft, missiles and swarm drones using a 30-kilowatt laser-based weapon system, news agency ANI reported.

The test, conducted in Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool, marks a significant milestone in India’s defense technology, positioning the nation alongside global powers like the United States, China, and Russia in the realm of directed-energy weapons (DEWs).

"This is just the beginning of the journey. The synergy that this lab has achieved with other DRDO labs, industry and academia, I am sure we will reach our destination soon...," DRDO chairman Samir V Kamat was quoted as saying by ANI.

Kamat said that the DRDO is also working on other high energy systems like "high energy microwaves, electromagnetic pulse".

"So we are working on a number of technologies that will give us Star Wars capability. What you saw today was one of the components of Star Wars technologies...," he added.

Kamat further said that the DRDO is also working on many other projects that are moving towards maturity. These include man-portable Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORAD), Man-Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM) and LCA Mark II.

"In the next six months to one year, you will see many of our systems getting inducted. VSHORAD, MPATGM, we have LCA Mark II, which will have its first flight, so there are many systems which are now moving towards maturity and in the next six months to one year you will see many of them getting inducted," he said.

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