Why aircraft carriers are the best (and worst) place for laser weapons

High-energy laser weapons are a natural fit for large, power-rich aircraft carriers—with limits.

[Photo: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nicholas Hall/Released/Wikimedia Commons]

When U.S. Navy leaders declared that “the dream of a laser on every ship can become a real one” earlier this year, they apparently had one particular ship in mind.

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush shot down multiple drones with a high-energy laser weapon stationed on its flight deck during a first-of-its-kind live-fire test in October 2025, the Navy recently revealed. Photos published to the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) on April 20 show a 20 kilowatt Palletized High Energy Laser (P-HEL) system—based on the LOCUST Laser Weapon System from defense contractor AV and on loan from........

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