Indian Navy plans for its Future warships in next decade or so will see the incorporation of two revolutionary fitments : Integrated Mast Housing L-,S- and X-band active phased-array radars and Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) effectors on warships which are still on drawing boards and on their follow-up designs. DEW effectors primarily to be used as a self-defence weapon system against UAV’s, Incoming sea skimming anti-ship missiles or subsonic cruise missiles.
Research and Development on DEW for warships worldwide has already spawned several solutions that are now undergoing sea-trials and will see the incorporation of DEWs soon in many frontline warships while India is seriously lacking behind in this category but DEWs are one of the priorities projects which DRDO plans to focus next.
DRDO’s Laser Science & Technology Centre (LASTEC) been tasked to build India’s Star Wars-like weapon systems for the Indian Armed forces in the near future have finally begun testing a vehicle-mounted gas dynamic laser-based DEW system dubbed "Aditya" which is a technology demonstrator to prove beam control technology.
LASTEC also plans to develop Air-defence variant of DEWs which can be used against UAVs, Helicopters at a range of 5-10kms which can guard airspace of an area of 10 km with a 360° view and a likely spinoff and a Naval variant for warships will also be developed.
In the US for instance, Northrop Grumman has designed and produced a 150kW laser-based DEW weapons system and have plans in place to develop 100W DEW weapons using advanced solid-state lasers in near future and finally move to Megawatt-class designs with electron-injection lasers which will likely make its debut in 2020 which theoretically damage enemy warships. Europe’s MBDA also has developed gad-dynamic carbon dioxide laser with 50kW power. Rheinmetall of Germany to has developed a 10kW high-energy laser (HEL).
It’s not clear if Indian Navy plans to get DEWs weapons systems from abroad or will be working with India’s DRDO in developing them indigenously since India’s own R&D in DEWs are still in infancy stage which will require few more years to mature as a weapon system. Source
Stay tuned for more updates! Jai Hind!