UPI Pictures of the Year 2013 -- NEWS AND FEATURES

The Laser Weapon System (LaWS) is temporarily installed aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey (DDG 105) in San Diego, California, July 2012. The U.S. Navy announced on April 8, 2013 that it will deploy for the first time one of its ships that could be used for shooting down drones and disabling vessels. The prototype will be installed aboard the USS Ponce within the next year. The weapon runs on electricity so the cost is less than $1 per shot. UPI/John Williams/U.S.NAVY