The U.S. military operational community does not widely appreciate the progress that has been made in increasing SSL power levels. As noted earlier, the three corporations participating in DoD’s Joint High-Powered Solid-State Laser Program either have achieved or will shortly achieve 25-kilowatt power levels with solid-state lasers in a laboratory environment. While this is far from the 100 kW range that the DoD’s High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office believes is necessary for a tactical laser to be effective, this work is viewed by many in the industry as promising. As technology progresses, weight might emerge as a problem as it is estimated that reaching an objective power-to-mass ratio would result in a laser system weighing about 11,000 pounds, much heavier than would be feasible for some of the uses described above. However, some in industry argue that technological advances could reduce the weight of a SSL laser of optimal power to less than 4,000 pounds.

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Dunn, Richard J. Operational Implications of Laser Weapons. Los Angeles, CA: Northrop Grumman Analysis Center, September 2005. [ 1 reference ] [ page 7 ]