Mark Gunzinger, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, sees that relatively small output increasing rapidly.
Within just a few years, he expects far more powerful prototypes of more than 150 kilowatts. Such a laser could knock out a missile sideways on, where it is most vulnerable. He said special operations forces want to test such a system by 2020 on an AC-130 gunship that specializes in ground support for troops.