Lasers, often portrayed as the ultimate defense in science fiction, cannot meet the real-world challenges posed by modern hypersonic missiles.
These missiles, capable of exceeding Mach 5 and changing course unpredictably, are ahead of current laser technology, which is limited by output power, line-of-sight limitations and atmospheric interference, writes the US magazine The National Interest.
Despite advances such as the U.S. Navy's HELIOS system and the Army's IFPC-HEL, today's lasers still cannot reliably stop hypersonic threats, the release emphasizes.
While lasers offer the potential for close-range defense, kinetic options remain the most effective solution against hypersonic missiles, highlighting the significant gap between science fiction and battlefield reality.