A Survey of Chinese Military Laser Weapons (That We Know Of)

An open-source rundown of China’s high-energy laser weapon efforts.

A variant of NORINCO’s OW5-A10 laser weapon system spotted on a highway in China in June 2025. (Sina Weibo)

In December 1963, Mao Zedong delivered a simple directive to the Chinese government’s top scientist: build me a death ray.

“Organize a group of people to specifically study it,” Mao told Marshal Nie Rongzhen, chairman of China’s State Science and Te…