Laser Guns

The US navy have shot a laser gun from one of their ships for the first time recently. They used a high energy laser (HEL) to set fire to a boats engine rendering it disabled on the coast of California. The US navy have been experimenting with laser since the retro ages (1970s) and found that moist sea air reduced lasers power which was a major obstacle.
The original concept for these ship mounted laser was to exploded hostile missile whilst they were air born thus cause littlest damage possible.
This technology is restricted to military ships but merchant vessels are also interested in the tech. Other laser weapons being developed include a laser gun that can temporarily blind pirates to allow the attacked ship to escape.