The Navy is putting a lot of money into research and development of laser weapons. What was science fiction 20 years ago should be reality in another 10-15 years.
From Wired’s Danger Room:
The Navy is increasingly excited about building a superpowerful laser to shoot down missiles and rockets that might attack its ships. But don’t expect the long-planned Free Electron Laser weapon to replace the guns the Navy stations on its ships — or to be shipboard for years. And definitely expect the laser to do more than just zap stuff out of the sky.