Lasers, railguns, and the shipboard energy problem

What are the main problems with railguns and lasers at sea?

Railguns struggle with barrel wear and energy demand; lasers need energy storage, focused beams, and enough power to overcome atmospheric attenuation.

Railguns and lasers remain promising but immature. Railguns combine heavy electrical demand with barrel-wear problems that remain difficult to solve. Lasers need generation, storage, and a tightly focused beam that can deliver damaging energy despite weather and atmospheric attenuation. Both have appeared close to practical service for years, so another decade of development may still separate demonstrations from dependable fleet weapons.