Rouge drones, meet Boeing's Compact Laser Weapons System.

Boeing showed off its Compact Laser Weapons System this week. It's a portable laser weapon that can take drones out of the sky by directing a precise blast of heat energy. The weapon takes 15 minutes to set up and around 15 seconds to take down a drone.

The system consists of three main components: A 2-kilowatt fiber laser, a water-cooled chiller and a beam director, all transportable in a variety of vehicles. Weight reduction was a main goal of of Boeing, especially with the beam director, which is lighter and faster operating than its predecessors.

The laser uses radar to autonomously track any potential unmanned arial vehicles (UAVs) at ranges of up to 40 kilometers (roughly 25 miles), well beyond what a human can see with the naked eye. All the operator needs to do is arm the laser and fire away.

Once it's set up, it can be operated by one person.

It's pretty spectacular to see in action; there's no visual hint of what's going on until the UAV suddenly catches fire and falls out of the sky. In a combat situation, an enemy would have no idea what hit them and where it was coming from. This isn't like the green laser from the Death Star.

In a video, Boeing engineer Isaac Neal described the laser as being "like a welding torch being put on target, but from many hundreds of meters away."

Radar tracking on Boeing's Compact Laser Weapons System Image: Boeing

The U.S. Navy has been developing a similar laser weapon, but the navy's is rather large by comparison. Boeing notes that its weapon can be easily carried by a variety of tactical vehicles.

Both the navy's and Boeing's lasers have a valuable trump card over other defense weapons: cost. While a single missile can cost well into seven figures to fire, lasers only cost a couple of dollars to fire and can be fired continuously. However, the lasers themselves are expensive, and they require electrical energy to fire.

UAVs are an increasingly common part of 21st century warfare, and Boeing's weapon is a sophisticated response that directly addresses this relatively new player on the battlefield.