One Year of Laser Wars
Here's how this newsletter is doing so far.
As 2025 comes to a close, I have been writing Laser Wars for just over a year — and what a year it’s been.
As I wrote six months ago, Laser Wars began as a way for me to stay on top of the rapidly accelerating development of military high-energy laser weapons and, in turn, satiate my obsession with science fiction and the futuristic technology that defines the genre. Some men get into delicious smoked meats or World War II biographies as they age — I got into blogging about lasers.
One year later, I am in awe of the response from Laser Wars readers, who range from military and defense industry professionals to hobbyists and enthusiasts. I frequently hear from directed energy pros past and present eager to share their insights or offer constructive criticism on my reporting, and their feedback is a wonderful validation of my work. To everyone who subscribes: Thank you for your continued readership and support.
A reminder: Paid subscribers are eligible to receive a free Laser Wars t-shirt using this order form from our merch store at Call for Fire.
Now, the status report.
Since launching Laser Wars, I have published 80 posts (including this one) and accumulated just over 1,000 subscribers.
Some of my favorite stories from the last year include:
Several exclusives, including stories on a laser-armed US Army Infantry Squad Vehicle participating in training exercises near the US-Mexico border, the US Navy testing a shipboard laser weapon in the Red Sea, and the US Defense Department eyeing laser weapons as part of the Trump administration’s “Golden Dome” missile shield
Analysis of the US military’s ongoing laser weapon woes, why Israel beat the US in the laser weapon race, the emerging global directed energy arms bazaar, and Trump’s laser battleship fantasy
A comprehensive map detailing the geography of military laser weapons around the world
A few non-laser defense tech stories, including an examination of why Japan’s electromagnetic railgun succeeded where the US military’s failed, a hard look at Anduril’s EagleEye and the history of helmet-mounted displays for combat troops, and an update on the Pentagon’s Hypervelocity Projectile efforts
A slew of weird histories of directed energy weapons, from the US Marine Corps’ request at the height of the Iraq War for an airborne laser plane to torch insurgents to the Cold War legend of Romania’s tank-melting laser weapon — the latter of which features one of my favorite archival photos ever, seen below1
So what’s in store for the next year of Laser Wars? Honestly, I’m not totally sure. The development and deployment of military laser weapons shows no signs of slowing down, and as long the US and foreign militaries continue to pursue directed energy and other futuristic defense tech, I’ll continue to write about it.
That said, I’m wide open to suggestions. Do you want a subscriber chat on Substack for incremental updates? Do you want to read features or series on specific topics? Do you have questions or critiques, or just want to just drop me a line and say hello? I welcome your feedback via email here or through my reader survey here.
In the meantime, thanks again for reading. I will leave you with my amazing wife’s (second) favorite joke about this newsletter: I am turning into Wayne Brady’s character from “30 Rock.”
There is only one physical copy of this photo known to exist and it now resides in the Laser Wars archive.
Great milestone hitting 1k subscribers! The focus on diriged energy systems is a niche that deserves way more coverage. I ran across the Romania tank-melting story a while back and it's wild how much of this Cold War tech just faded from public memory. Keen to see more archival digs like that.