Officials announce 'Star Wars' lasers will be used to eliminate drones

Laser weapons will be used to blast drones out of the sky, according to a newly announced project by South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

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The new project was announced on Thursday and describes what DAPA is calling the "Star Wars Project," which includes the deployment of laser weapons to combat North Korea's drones. DAPA describes these laser anti-aircraft weapons as a "new concept future weapon system" that is capable of emitting drones by hitting them with a light source generated from an optical fiber. DAPA states the laser weapon system can precisely strike unmanned aerial vehicles at "close range".

It should be noted that these lasers aren't like what is seen in the Star Wars movies, as they are completely invisible and silent, and there is no ammunition. Furthermore, DAPA is only in the prototype stage but has signed a contract with Hanwha Aerospace Co., to mass produce the new weapons system. Delivery is expected to be fulfilled later this, and according to reports, each blast from one of these laser systems will cost $1.45. At the moment, it remains unclear how many blasts are needed to neutralize a drone.

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