Northrop Grumman has delivered a miniaturized high-energy laser, called the Phantom, to the US government that points to future laser weapons that are not only powerful, but small and rugged enough for field combat.

Lasers are very attractive to the military as a potential game changer with their ability to engage targets at the speed of light at a cost of a dollar a shot. Until recently, most of the attention has been on the laser beam itself – how to make it powerful enough to be effective, how to lock on target, and how to control the beam over long distances.

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However, there is another side to such weapons that the Phantom addresses. No matter how powerful or effective it is, a laser weapon isn’t of any use to anyone if it’s some gigantic, delicate Frankenstein’s monster of a setup that looks like a cross between an old-fashioned radio’s innards and a Meccano set and weighs several tonnes.

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