UK looking for laser weapon

The UK Ministry of Defence has officially awarded a £30m contract to produce a prototype laser weapon.

The aim is to see whether "directed energy" technology could benefit the armed forces, and is to culminate in a demonstration of the system in 2019.

The contract was picked up by a consortium of European defence firms.

The prototype will be assessed on how it picks up and tracks targets at different distances and in varied weather conditions over land and water.