In brief: South Korea is set to become the first country to deploy and operate anti-aircraft laser weapons, which it will use to shoot drones from North Korea out of the sky. In what seems like a fitting name, the program is called the "Star Wars project."
Announced by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the laser weapons were developed by the South Korean military with Hanwha Aerospace Co.
DAPA explained that the laser anti-aircraft weapon destroys targets by directly irradiating them with a laser light source generated from an optical fiber. It can strike small unmanned aerial vehicles, aka drones, and multi-copters at close range.
The beams of light, which last 10 to 20 seconds, can burn out engines, circuit boards, or other electrical equipment in drones.
The agency said the lasers are invisible, silent, and require no ammunition. All they need is electricity to operate. They're also cheap to use, costing 2,000 won (about $1.50) per shot. While not a laser weapon, the US Navy's abandoned rail gun project was estimated to cost around $25,000 per round.
An agency official noted that countries such as the US and Israel are ahead of South Korea when it comes to developing laser weapons, but their focus has been on high-powered beams designed to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles. South Korea aims to eventually develop similar laser weapons of its own.
Five North Korean drones crossed into South Korea in December 2022, leading to fighter jets and attack helicopters scrambling to shoot them down.
The laser weapon is still in the prototype stage, but DAPA says it has signed an agreement with Hanwha Aerospace Co. that will see the system put into mass production.
Lee Sang-yoon, a DAPA official, told AFP news that Block-I, the first laser system, will be put into operational deployment by the military this year, though some experts believe it could take as long as five years before the lasers will be on the frontlines shooting down drones.