Air Force to begin testing drone-zapping laser mounted on an F-15 fighter jet this summer

This summer, the U.S. Air Force will begin testing a laser mounted on an F-15 warplane. The Pentagon last year awarded a $26 million contract to Lockheed Martin for a laser weapons program called Self-protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator (SHiELD). The idea is to put a laser system on aircraft with an output of about 50 kilowatts to test their ability to zap drones or cruise missiles. By focusing a laser beam on a target, the technology rapidly heats it up inside, causing it to crash or explode.