https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2016/06/25/air-force-has-directed-energy-weapons-now-comes-the-hard-part/

By: Phillip Swarts   June 25, 2016

The Afloat Forward Staging Base (Interim) USS Ponce (ASB(I) 15) conducts an operational demonstration of the Office of Naval Research (ONR)-sponsored Laser Weapon System (LaWS) while deployed to the Arabian Gulf. (U.S. Navy photo by John F. Williams/Released)

The amphibious transport dock Ponce conducts an operational demonstration of the Navy's Laser Weapon System while deployed to the Arabian Gulf. Air Force leaders are hoping to take lessons learned from the Ponce experiment and apply them to plane-based lasers for AC-130 gunships and, eventually, fighters like the F-22 and F-35.

Photo Credit: John F. Williams/Navy

Obering, who now works on directed energy issues for Booz Allen Hamilton, said the technology is going to require a gradual culture shift within the Air Force and the broader military.