You say the words "laser turret", and you think strategy games. Maybe shooters. They're as clichéd a defensive tool that science fiction stories can get, but now, thanks to German scientists, they're real.
While ground-to-laser technology has existed for a while now, this pair of weapons is really something else, boasting a twin-barrel casing that houses a 30-kw and a 20-kw laser beam, which when paired can track and shoot down drones flying at 50 metres per second.
Or, if the target isn't moving, they can cut through steel girders from a mile away.
If that doesn't sound powerful enough, the weapon's manufacturers, Rheinmetall, say that lasers twice as powerful should be available within 3-5 years.
Seems a bit silly that Black Ops II went to all the trouble of making you shoot down drones with fighter jets, when they could have just parked a few of these outside LA, sat back and watched the rain.
Rheinmetall demos laser that can shoot down drones [BBC, via Motherboard]