The defense chiefs of Japan and Australia said Tuesday that the quasi-allies had made major progress on a co-developed high-energy laser project, as the two sought to take defense cooperation beyond Canberra¡¯s historic decision last year to buy warships from Tokyo.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and his Australian counterpart, Richard Marles, said the partners had marked a ¡°significant milestone¡± in defense collaboration with successful field trials of the high-energy laser for the Boobook project.
The laser capability can be used on land and sea-based platforms, according to Marles, and offers ¡°greater protection and situational awareness by using laser to optically detect incoming threats.¡±?
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