Directed energy weapons are no longer just sci- ence fiction. They are real and are maturing rapidly. In the next several years, the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force all plan to develop and field these weapons at an increasing pace. They will be deployed on land vehicles, aircraft, helicopters, and ships.

Would energy weapons be possible?

"For strategic and tactical weapons, you can store energy on planes, boats or Humvees," said Beason, "but unless a super-source of energy is invented, you may never be able to do it with handheld weapons." In theory, advances in battery technology eventually could make such weapons possible.

Are plasma weapons possible?

You can use a laser beam to super heat air, turning the air along the path of the beam into plasma. This plasma is electrically conductive, which means you can then send a huge electrical pulse along that beam to shock your target.