RE: LeoThread 2026-07-01 06-21

4/4 🧵 The catch: this was still a lab prototype, not something soldiers were about to carry into the field. The piece frames it as part of a broader push toward futuristic weapons, alongside railguns and hypersonic systems. 📎 Source

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3/4 🧵 A lead scientist at Picatinny Arsenal, George Fischer, said the team kept watching lightning bolts hit simulated targets during testing. The laser used was an ultra-short-pulse system: enormous power output during the pulse, but only for two-trillionths of a second. The same plasma-channel concept could also help direct high-powered microwave pulses.

2/4 🧵 The article says the laser creates an energized plasma channel in the air, which acts as an invisible pathway for electricity. Because electricity follows the path of least resistance, targets like tanks or unexploded roadside bombs could be better conductors than the ground, making them possible strike points.

1/4 🧵 The Army was testing a weapon concept that sounds like science fiction: use a laser to create a path in the air, then send electricity down it like a guided lightning strike. The idea is simple and wild at the same time—make lightning go where you want.