STAR WARS: US spends $500 million on laser weapons

E. AT WHICH THESE DEVELOPMENTS ARE. BEING MADE. JENNIFER GRIFFIN FOR US, THANKS. >> Sandra: THE PENTAGON IS. BETTING HALF A BILLION DOLLARS. ON WEAPONS STRAIGHT OUT OF SCI. FI. HORROR READY LASERS BURNING. IRANIAN DRONES AND CRUISE. MISSILES OUT OF THE SKY IN THE. STRAIT OF HORMUZ AT A FRACTION. OF THE COST OF A MISSILE. AN XBOX STYLE CONTROLLER IS. BEHIND ALL OF IT. LET'S BRING IN JARED KELLER WHO. WROTE THE LASER WARS NEWSLETTER. AND HAS CALLED PRESIDENT TRUMP. THE LASER WAR PRESIDENT.

WHERE DO WE BEGIN? DESCRIBE THE TECHNOLOGY. >> A LASER WEAPON IS WEAPONIZED. LIGHT. IT TRANSFORMS A TREMENDOUS. AMOUNT OF POWER INTO A. CONCENTRATED NEAR INVISIBLE BEAM. OF DESTRUCTIVE LIGHT THAT COULD. BLIND INCOMING DRONES OR BURNOUT. TARGETS IN THE SKY. >> Sandra: ACCORDING TO THIS. HEADLINE, U.S. MILITARY SPENDING. $500 MILLION ON WAR ALREADY. LASER WEAPONS ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE. DESCRIBING AND ZAPPING DRONES IN.

IRAN ALONG THE U.S. BORDER WE. CAN VERY SPECIFICALLY TRACK AND. TARGET DRONES AND PUT THE SPOT. EXACTLY WHERE WE WANT IT IN. ORDER TO DISABLE ITS SENSORS OR. KILL, I.E. EXPLODE THE DRONE. ITSELF. THIS SOUNDS LIKE THE FUTURE OF. WARFARE. YOU TELL US. >> LASER WEAPONS HAVE BEEN THE. FUTURE OF WARFARE FOR DECADES. THE FIRST TIME THE U.S. MILITARY. EVER SHOT A DRONE OUT OF THE SKY. WITH A LASER WEAPON WAS 1973.

THE MAJOR CHALLENGE HAS BEEN. RUGGEDIZED, REDUCING, AND. MILITARIZING THE TECHNOLOGY TO. BE EFFECTIVELY DEPLOYED ON THE. BATTLEFIELD. THEY RELY ON A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT. OF POWER, THEY ARE COMPLICATED. IT HAS TAKEN DECADES TO GET THE. ACTUAL TECHNOLOGY TO THE POINT. WHERE IT COULD BE DEPLOYED. AGAINST HOSTILE CARTEL DRONES. >> Sandra: THE U.S. NAVY.

ADMIRAL ON THE VALUE OF THESE. SYSTEMS. >> DIRECTED ENERGY THEREFORE. DOES NOT REPLACE MISSILES. IT DOES NOT REPLACE GUNS. IT DOESN'T REPLACE ELECTRONIC. WARFARE, DECOYS, MANEUVER, DECEPTION. IT DOES BECOME ANOTHER EFFECT. INSIDE A INTEGRATED DEFENSIVE. KILL CHAIN. THE STRATEGIC VALUE OF IT IS NOT. THE NOVELTY, IT'S THE ENDURANCE. IT CAN GIVE THE FLEET. >> Sandra: HOW TO BUILD OUT. THESE NAVAL LASER SYSTEMS. HE SAYS "WE NEED TO GET USEFUL.

DIRECTED ENERGY CAPABILITY INTO. THE HANDS OF SAILORS NOW. AT THE SAME TIME WE HAVE TO. DESIGN FUTURE SHIPS WITH. DIRECTED ENERGY IN MIND FROM THE. BEGINNING. WHAT SORT OF TIME FRAME ARE WE. LOOKING AT TO BUILD THIS OUT? >> IN THESE TWO TRACKS, THERE. ARE TWO DISTINCT TIME FRAMES. ONE IS IMMEDIATELY, TO BUILD. LASER WEAPONS INTO CONTAINERS. THAT CAN BE RAPIDLY SWAPPED.

ACROSS SURFACE COMBATANTS AS. QUICKLY AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE. WITHOUT SPENDING SIGNIFICANT. AMOUNT OF TIME IN A SHIPYARD AND. OTHER COMPLICATED TECHNICAL. INTEGRATIONS. IN TERMS OF HIGHER POWERED. LASERS IN THE MEGAWATT CLASS. WHICH COULD BE USED TO DEFEAT. FAST MOVING HARDENED MISSILE. THREATS, THAT'S A LONGER TERM. PLAY THAT WOULD REQUIRE. ENGINEERING SURFACE COMBATANTS. WITH THE POWER DIRECTLY BUILT. INTO THEIR SYSTEMS TO MAINTAIN. THESE WEAPONS IN THE LONG TERM. >> Sandra: THE WEAPONIZED. LIGHT SPENDS SEVERAL SECONDS ON. THE TARGET TO BRING IT DOWN FOR.

THE OTHER THING SURPRISINGLY AND. WE WILL LEAVE OFF WITH THIS. COMMENT THE LASER OPERATED BY. SOLDIERS USING RECONFIGURED XBOX. GAME CONSOLE CONTROLLERS. TELL US ABOUT THAT. >> IT MAKES COMPLETE SENSE. THE U.S. GAME INDUSTRY HAS SPENT. DECADES PRIMING THE ENTIRE. POPULATION OF THE COUNTRY FOR. THE BEST POSSIBLE HUMAN MACHINE. INTERFACE. THEY DID THE RESEARCH AND THE. PENTAGON IS LEARNING FROM THEIR.

LONG RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. PROCESS. THERE ARE OTHER TOOLS THAT. INTEGRATE WITH THE SYSTEM TO. MAINTAIN THAT EXQUISITE TRACKING. AND PRECISION. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY THE. CONTROLLER THAT A STANDARD. SOLDIER OR SAILOR MAY OPERATE IS. THIS ONE. >> Sandra: WOW. THAT IS REALLY SOMETHING. YOU SAID YOU HAVE SHOT A SPARTAN. LASER IN HALO, YOU CAN PROBABLY. FIRE IT IN REAL LIFE.

APPRECIATE YOU SHARING YOUR. EXPERTISE AND KNOWLEDGE WITH US. ON ALL OF THIS.