Zeus, The Army Ray Gun

There has been a lot of research into weapons that use light or atomic particles destructively. But until this century, it was just research. We now know that the US Army deployed a real ray gun in 2003. Zeus, aka the Humvee Laser Ordnance Neutralization System (HLONS,) was one-of-a-kind when it was sent to Afganistan March 18, 2003. After six months it was returned to the US where more powerful versions were under development. Full deployment of Zeus is expected in fiscal year 2009.

The field-tested version of ZEUS had a 0.5 kW laser mounted on the roof of a Humvee. Current versions have more than four times that power and weigh 2,000 pounds less. They have an effective range of more than 300 meters.

During its six-month deployment, Zeus proved its worth exploding 210 explosive devices like old Russian missles and roadside IEDs. It is doubtful that it has ever been used against an enemy combatant because there is a controversy over the legality of such use under International Law.

Zeus was developed by General Dynanics. It is part of a larger DOD program call Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs.) Experimental DEWs have been around since Nickola Tesla worked on his charged-particle "teleforce" weapon in the 1930s.