US Navy plans high-energy laser weapons integrated into future surface combatants

The article describes the US Navy’s push to field high-energy laser weapons for ship self-defense to reduce reliance on VLS-loaded kinetic interceptors and free magazine space for offensive missiles. The novelty is the explicit linkage of fleet-wide laser adoption to new hull designs with sufficient power/cooling plus bridging efforts like containerized capability and land-based integration/test facilities, indicating a concrete pathway (though not yet fielded at scale).