Six Months of Laser Wars
Here's how this newsletter is doing so far.
First of all: if you’re reading this, that means you’re probably a Laser Wars subscriber. Thank you for your continued readership and support. I never thought this newsletter would garner more than a handful of readers and I am honored to grace your inbox on a regular basis.
Second: If you enjoy Laser Wars and want to make it better, consider filling out a reader survey here using the button below:
Now, the good stuff.
In December of last year, during the annual dead zone between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I decided to do something that I’d been thinking about a long time and launch this newsletter. Its purpose, as I wrote in my introductory post, is simple: to follow the development and deployment of military laser weapons around the world and chronicle how they’re changing the face of modern warfare.
But my other motivation was also selfish: to satiate my burning interest in the ongoing efforts to turn the weapons of my science fictions dreams into an operational reality. Sure, they may not be Han Solo’s blaster or Starfleet phasers (and definitely not Winona), but modern laser weapons are up there with electromagnetic railguns and powered armor as ever-present fixtures of military planners’ (and the public’s) visions of future warfare. I may not be a full-time digital media professional anymore, but I’ll be damned if I’ll let my defense tech obsessions die on the vine with a career change — and yes, I’m becoming a walking “30 Rock” joke in the process.
Anyway: It’s been nearly six months since I started Laser Wars, and in that time I have published 37 posts, including:
Two scoops, one on the US Marine Corps ditching the Compact Laser Weapons System (CLaWS) and another featuring the first image of the US Army’s laser-armed Infantry Squad Vehicle.
Two “viral” (can things even go viral anymore?) pieces of analysis, one on the first image of the US Navy’s High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical Dazzler and Surveillance (HELIOS) in action and another on why Japan’s electromagnetic railgun succeeded where the Navy’s failed.
A comprehensive rundown on the status of every known US military laser weapon effort.
Footage of the Israeli military scoring the first known combat laser weapon kill ever recorded — and a brief history of the rumored laser engagements that preceded it.
Several videos of foreign militaries demonstrating new laser weapons, from Russia and Ukraine, to India, Turkey, and Japan.
One of my all-time favorite pieces of weird history: a survey of real-life handheld military laser guns.
In the process, Laser Wars has grown to more than 400 subscribers, including a combination of military and defense professionals, hobbyists and enthusiasts, and the generally laser-curious (at least, according to the last reader survey I sent in late April).
As I look ahead to the next six months (and beyond) of Laser Wars, there are a few things I have in mind. They include:
An expansion of coverage into other directed energy weapons, particularly high-powered microwaves, as well as additional posts about other futuristic defense tech like this one.
A semi-regular interview series with subject matter experts in the space
Additional reader perks (subscriber chat, swag, etc.)
A YouTube channel? An Instagram feed?
Do you have suggestions? Questions? Concerns? Want to just drop me a line and say hey? I welcome your feedback via email here or through the reader survey here:
In the meantime, thanks again for reading. I’ll leave you with my incredible wife’s preferred response whenever I tell her about the latest Laser Wars edition I’m working on:
I say don’t be afraid to branch out to other high tech stuff if needed! Thx for the update.