The European Union is Getting Serious About Laser Weapons
The EU is ramping up its directed energy research.
The European Union wants in on the global directed energy arms race.
On May 27, the Council of the EU approved a sixth wave of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) projects designed to deepen defense cooperation between member states. The fresh tranche of projects includes a new Directed Energy Systems (DES) initiative aimed at incorporating high-energy lasers into mobile platforms to counter drone and missile threats.
Led by Italy and Spain, the DES project will focus on creating a modular and scalable laser weapon architecture between 10 and 100 kilowatts power that can be adapted for various platforms and missions, according to the PESCO description. Once operational, the system is expected to provide short-range air defense against hostile drones, rockets, artillery, mortar fire, and even cruise missiles.
This DES initiative is the EU’s latest coordinated push into high-energy laser weapon development following the 2023 launch of Tactical Advanced Laser Optical Systems-TWO (TALOS-TWO), a €25 million European Defence Fund program focused on building 100 kw demonstrators by 2030. The first TALOS increment, which ran from 2019 to 2023 (and should not be confused with US Special Operations Command’s now-defunct Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit), focused on validating critical laser subsystems and operational concepts. Led by French laser manufacturer CILAS, the TALOS-TWO consortium includes major defense players like MBDA, Thales, Rheinmetall, and Leonardo.
Several European nations have independently pursued their own directed energy capabilities in recent years. In June 2023, the French navy successfully tested the CILAS HELMA-P laser weapon system aboard a Horizon-class air defense destroyer following ashore tests in 2020 and 2021; just a few months later, the German navy successfully tested a demonstrator from Rheinmetall and MBDA aboard a Sachsen-class air defense frigate at sea. In December 2024, Italy formalized an agreement with Leonardo to develop laser weapons for future naval applications. And as recently as this April, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense announced plans to equip four Royal Navy destroyers with ‘DragonFire’ laser weapon systems by 2027.
But those separate efforts have led to concerns over redundant research and development and interoperability issues, prompting calls for a more unified approach. The fragmented nature of the continental defense industry is “financially untenable, fostering duplicated systems and redundancies that induce unnecessary costs,” according to a 2023 report from Finabel, a European organization focused on military cooperation. “It is also strategically problematic, impeding collaborative and cooperative efforts while preventing interoperability.” A January policy brief from the Centre for European Reform echoes these concerns, stating that "duplicated systems that are not interoperable create unnecessary costs and hinder collaborative efforts."
Together, the DES and TALOS-TWO initiatives reflect a new seriousness about laser weapons inside Europe’s rapidly integrating defense technology ecosystem, a push to consolidate efforts and resources across member states to mitigate inefficiencies and enhance the EU's capabilities. With superpowers like the United States, Russia, China, and smaller countries like Ukraine and Israel already fielding or combat-testing directed energy systems, the EU has lagged behind. But as European defense spending surges in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the two programs represent the bloc’s most concerted step yet toward building sovereign capabilities in a technology space increasingly seen as essential to modern warfare.
“Ongoing conflicts at Europe's borders and increasing security challenges made Europe understand that no single country can stand alone in ensuring its defense,” as Antanas Laurutis, CEO of Lithuanian laser company and TALOS-TWO consortium member Altechna, put it in March. “Therefore, the continent has taken a decisive step to strengthen its security as a united front and move away from fragmented national efforts.”
”TALOS-TWO is proof of that,” he added. “By developing sovereign laser-directed energy weapons, we adopt cutting-edge military technology and reinforce Europe's ability to deter external threats as a cohesive force.”
That sentiment now has institutional backing. With DES approved under the PESCO framework and TALOS-TWO advancing under the European Defence Fund, Brussels is clearly laying down a new model of shared sovereignty over shared tech. Whether it actually results in deployable systems remains to be seen, but for now the EU appears to be taking laser weapons seriously – and together.