The Pentagon has tested onboard the USS Ponce a new laser weapon system (LsWS) capable of shooting down small drones, those against which conventional DCA are ineffective.

The manufacturing cost of such laser weapons is not known, but their use is limited to the cost of the amount of energy required, which is insignificant (less than a dollar per shot).

The prototype has been tested for a year and will be manufactured in series by BAE Systems Plc, Northrop Grumman Corp. and Raytheon Co. The final weapon should be operational by 2021 and will be installed on all vessels of the U.S. Navy.

“U.S. Navy Deploys Its First Laser Weapon in the Persian Gulf”, Tony Capaccio, Bloomberg, 14 November 2014.