New Turkish laser gun shoots down drone in live-fire test

Turkish state defense company MKE has destroyed a drone at a distance of 760 meters (about 2,500 feet) with a new 20-kilowatt fiber laser weapon developed for its TOLGA close-in air defense system, scoring a direct hit during the Ateş Serbest-2026 live-fire event at Polatlı, west of Ankara.

MKE announced the result on X on Oct. 13 and released a video showing the laser turret engaging and destroying the target, with the weapon’s effects broken down by distance.

The laser can dazzle a drone’s cameras and sensors at 2,500 to 4,500 meters (1.6 to 2.8 miles), blind them completely at 1,500 to 2,500 meters (0.9 to 1.6 miles), and physically destroy a target at 100 to 1,500 meters (330 feet to 0.9 miles), placing the 760-meter shot at Polatlı well inside its destruction range. The turret carries the laser alongside a separate electro-optical sensor unit that finds and tracks targets before the beam is fired.

The laser is the newest addition to TOLGA, MKE’s short-range air defense system, and is designed to counter close-range threats in the air, on land and at sea. MKE said the Polatlı firing demonstrated its capability in high-impact defense technologies and that the company will keep building on more than a century of experience to develop future weapons for Türkiye.

A laser weapon heats a spot on a target with a focused beam until it burns through critical parts such as motors, wiring or fuel tanks, and each shot costs only the electricity needed to fire it. That makes lasers well suited to dealing with large numbers of cheap drones that would otherwise have to be shot down with far more expensive missiles or guns.

MKE’s system joins several laser weapons developed in Türkiye in recent years, including ASELSAN’s GÖKBERK, which has been shown on BMC’s AMAZON armored vehicle, and Roketsan’s ALKA directed-energy system. Türkiye is fielding these and other counter-drone systems as part of Steel Dome, a layered air defense network that combines lasers, guns, jammers and missiles to protect troops, bases and cities from drones and missiles.

Ateş Serbest is an annual live-fire demonstration held at the Polatlı training area, where Turkish defense companies show new weapons and ammunition to military and government officials, and this year’s event gave MKE’s 20-kilowatt laser its first public shoot-down of a drone target.