What is Laser-Directed Energy Weapon? How does DRDO-developed Star Wars threaten China, Pakistan?

India became the fourth country after the US, China, and Russia when it successfully test-fired the Laser Directed Energy Weapon (DEW) Sunday in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. With the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) declaring the successful trial of an Mk-II(A) and "mastering the technology of disabling missiles, drones, and smaller projectiles", India joined the elite club. The DRDO carried out the trial at the National Open Air Range, Kurnool, in Andhra Pradesh, while the system was developed by its Centre for High Energy Systems and Sciences (CHESS), Hyderabad. 

What is Directed Energy Weapon?

A directed-energy weapon (DEW) is a weapon that is designed to target enemies from a distance. It uses highly focused energy without a solid projectile, like, lasers, microwaves, particle beams, and sound beams, to damage the target. These may be the weapons that target personnel, missiles, vehicles, and optical devices. 

How does DEW work?

As light remains unaffected by gravity, wind and Coriolis force, a laser beam has an almost perfectly flat trajectory. As they travel at light speed and have long range, it is most suitable for use in space warfare. Besides, they have problems in terms of ammunition supply. This also makes the laser-directed weapon aim much more precisely; they are limited only by beam diffraction and spread, and the power is diluted a little bit. 

Why Does India Need DEW?

The DRDO said in a statement that "once detected by a radar or by its inbuilt Electro-Optic (EO) system, laser-DEW can engage targets at the speed of light and use an intense laser beam to cut through the target." It causes structural failure. It also said, "The cost of firing it for a few seconds is equivalent to the cost of a couple of litres of petrol. Therefore, it has the potential to be a long-term and low-cost alternative to defeat the target."

Defence analysts believe that as unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and the emergence of drone swarms as asymmetric threats, the directed energy weapons with counter-UAS and counter-swarm capabilities can prove to be countermeasures to stop them. The DRDO also said the DEW would soon be replacing traditional kinetic weapons and missile defence systems.