China debuts backpack-sized laser weapons to shoot down drones

China Unveils Backpack-Sized Anti-Drone Laser Weapons at Beijing Defense Expo

Chinese defense contractor Harbin Xinguang Optic-Electronics Technology has debuted a pair of man-portable laser weapons designed to let a single soldier shoot down drones, displaying the systems at the Defence Information Equipment & Technology Exhibition 2026 in Beijing, which opened on Tuesday, June 16.scmp

The Lijian II and Lijian III — “sharp swords” in Chinese — represent what the company says is a leap in directed-energy miniaturization. The Lijian II weighs 30 kilograms and the lighter Lijian III comes in at 25 kilograms, with each system broken into just three components: a laser emitter, an air cooler, and a handheld control terminal, all storable in a single bag.scmp

How They Work

The portable systems operate at roughly 2 kilowatts and can burn through a drone at approximately 500 meters in about four seconds, according to exhibition materials and reports from the South China Morning Post. The larger models in the Lijian series can reach targets at up to 1,200 meters. The weapons use AI-assisted targeting to acquire and track drones, reducing the operator burden to a single soldier.oodaloop

Cost and Context

Each portable unit is priced at around 2 million yuan, or approximately $295,000 — not cheap, but far less expensive per engagement than traditional kinetic interceptors such as missiles. The cost-per-shot advantage of laser weapons over conventional munitions has driven global investment in directed-energy systems, with Saudi Arabia reportedly trialing China’s larger Silent Hunter laser and the United States recently demonstrating its own compact counter-drone laser systems.dw

A Growing Market

The three-day expo, described as China’s only exhibition dedicated to defense informationization, brought together nearly 1,000 defense technology companies and research institutions, covering 50,000 square meters of exhibition space. The Lijian series debut comes amid an accelerating global laser weapons race, with Israel, the United States, and multiple Gulf states all pursuing directed-energy counter-drone capabilities. Deutsche Welle reported in May that the competition among China, the U.S., and Israel in laser weaponry has intensified as drone threats proliferate across multiple theaters of conflict.globaltimes

The portable Lijian systems signal China’s push to bring directed-energy weapons down to the individual soldier level — a development that defense analysts say could reshape how ground forces respond to the small drone threat that has come to dominate modern battlefields from Ukraine to the Middle East.