Navy Shipboard Lasers: Background and Issues for Congress

This report provides background information and issues for Congress on shipboard solid state lasers (SSLs) that the Navy is developing for surface-ship self-defense. The Navy installed its first prototype SSL capable of countering surface craft and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on a Navy ship in 2014. The Navy since then has been developing and installing additional SSL prototypes with improved capability for countering surface craft and UAVs. SSLs with higher beam powers that are being developed by the Navy could have a capability for countering anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs). Navy efforts to develop SSLs have included the Solid State Laser Technology Maturation (SSL-TM) effort; the Optical Dazzling Interdictor, Navy (ODIN); the Surface Navy Laser Weapon System (SNLWS) Increment 1, also known as the high-energy laser with integrated optical dazzler and surveillance (HELIOS); and the High Energy Laser Counter-ASCM Program (HELCAP). On December 22, 2025, the Trump Administration announced a proposed program to build a new class of guided missile battleships (BBG[X]s) for the Navy. The first BBG(X) would reportedly be procured in the early 2030s. The Navy states that the BBG(X) is to be armed with, among other things, two lasers, each with a beam power of 300 kilowatts (kW) or 600 kW. Lasers with such beam power (particularly 600 kW) could be capable of countering at least some types of ASCMs. The issue for Congress is whether to modify, reject, or approve the Navy’s acquisition strategies and funding requests for shipboard laser development programs. Decisions that Congress makes on this issue could affect Navy capabilities and funding requirements and the defense technology and industrial base.