The United Kingdom is building a laser gun. Technically, the Ministry of Defence is looking for a contractor to build a “laser directed energy weapon capability demonstrator,” but that's a jargony soup for laser gun. There will be a briefing for defense companies in mid-April, where the Ministry of Defence can hammer out all the business matters that go into buying a weapon that destroys things with light.
Right now, the U.S. Navy has a warship with a laser gun patrolling the Persian Gulf. The USS Ponce is an old ship that first saw service as an amphibious transport in the 1970s, designed to carry troops, vehicles, and helicopters close to beaches. Saved from a scrapyard, the U.S. Navy strapped a laser to its back and sent it forward, turning it into a cold warrior testing the waters of the future.