For fiscal year 2013, the Pentagon has proposed deep cuts to the budget for military lasers and directed-energy weapons, slashing the total by approximately 33% from FY 2012. In FY 2013, Department of Defense officials propose spending $209.24 million for research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) related to lasers and directed-energy weapons, and $35.04 million in procurement. The total is down 44.7% from FY 2011 levels of $441.48 million.

These numbers are derived from a line-by-line analysis of the 2013 DOD budget request for procurement and RDT&E, and do not reflect potential spending in the Pentagon's operations and maintenance or other budget requests, and do not reflect budget line items in which lasers and directed-energy weapons content is not apparent. The full analysis was conducted by our colleague John Keller at Military & Aerospace Electronics.

The largest lasers and directed-energy weapons program Pentagon officials plan for next year is the US Air Force's $106.2 million initiative for applied research in directed-energy technology, such as the Airborne Laser. That figure is down from current-year spending of $141.1 million, and down from 2011 levels of 110.3 million.

In other procurement, the US Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) at Fort Monmouth, NJ, proposes to spend $1 million to procure the Green Laser Interdiction System (GLIS). This figure is down from $25.36 million CECOM had budgeted to buy this system in FY 2012. The Green Laser Interdiction System is a non-lethal laser weapon designed to control crowds or potential attackers through visual disruption.