Northrop Grumman's weaponized laser on sale now, definitely won't hug you
The last time we heard anything about Northrop Grumman's development of a weaponized laser system, they were telling us that the "hardest part was over," and it looks like they weren't exaggerating. According to today's PR released by the 4th largest defense contractor in the world, the units, dubbed FIRESTRIKE, are now "ready for sale." In case you haven't been following every detail of the story, the FIRESTRIKE is a solid-state laser (think raygun), which weighs 400 pounds, has an Ethernet interface, and can be chained together with up to 7 other identical modules to create a 100 kw beam. The unit's obviously not very portable, and we don't have any information on its price, but we're going to go ahead and assume we can't afford it. Enemies of Engadget: you're safe, at least for now.
