U.S Navy Aircraft Carrier Tests New Laser Weapon System With 100% Success Rate Against Drones

In October 2025, American defence company AeroVironment conducted a laser weapon test on the American aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77), showcasing how advanced weapon systems can shoot down enemy drones.

The trial, which achieved 100% success rate, was performed onboard the nuclear-powered carrier, where the system was temporarily secured with chains without changing the ship’s structure.

AeroVironment’s Locust laser was kept on the deck, enabling engineers to set up the system easily.

The weapon system was thus installed, set up and tested in a single day.

This also means that if widely adopted, a ship would not need to dock, but rather the laser system can be taken away for maintenance when required.

Another milestone was that the carrier’s crew could operate the weapon system efficiently just after a ten-minute training session.

Within about an hour of using the laser system, they successfully engaged aerial targets, and the system reported hitting all the targets during trials.

A lot of research went into modifying the laser weapon system for the marine environment, like enhancing its electronic stability to ensure it could handle abrupt movements and shocks at sea when weather conditions are not favourable.

The setup also required some operational compromises, like pausing normal flight operations onboard the carrier.

After the test, the system was removed so the warship could continue its usual tasks.

This highlights the drawbacks of temporary setups or movable systems. In a real combat-like situation, a drone can appear at any time, and there might not be enough time to stop other tasks or move the system to a favourable location on the deck.

The company said that these issues could be solved by placing the system in different parts of the ship or adapting the designs for continuous deployment.

The laser system can be modified for other naval ships as well, apart from aircraft carriers.