Power generation, command space, lenses, and software constrain shipboard laser weapons. Lasers can suit power-rich destroyers without assuming that every smaller vessel can carry the same system. First-rank escorts may support advanced equipment, while mass-produced lower-tier ships still need cheaper defences suited to their missions. The historic high-low mix worked similarly: Flower-class corvettes received useful weapons and sensors, though rarely the top-priority equipment. Scarce technology concentrated on cruisers, destroyers, carriers, and capital ships. Anti-drone defence is therefore a fleet-design problem rather than a single-weapon choice.
Notable Point · 1:59:21-2:04:49
Why drone-defence lasers reinforce a high-low fleet mix
The later anti-drone discussion develops into an argument for matching advanced systems to ships that can support them.