The advantage of "directed energy weapons"

You can call them "death rays" if you'd prefer, but the official military term is "directed energy weapon" (there may be other even more banal alternatives I'm not aware of).

Boeing has now announced the successful firing of a tactical laser from an aircraft. The weapon "defeated" an unoccupied stationary vehicle.

This milestone demonstrates that directed energy weapon systems will transform the battlespace and save lives," said Boeing exec Greg Hyslop. "The ATL team has earned a distinguished place in the history of weapon system development."

I thought this part was interesting:

... may be able to cause a cell tower to stop working, a vehicle's fuel tank to suddenly explode, or a single person to inexplicably be incinerated - all completely silently and tracelessly, without anyone knowing they were ever there and not so much as a spent bullet left behind...

The source does not sound unbiased, but the report and conclusions are probably valid.

Via NAACAL.

Addendum: Additional info posted by Doug in comments.