Lockheed Martin has successfully tested a new laser weapon system ATHENA (Advanced Test High Energy Asset) that can disable the engine of a small truck from more than a mile away in a matter of seconds.

Usually, a laser pointer has a beam of around 1 milliwatt, but ATHENA creates a beam of 30 kilowatts, which is 30 million times more.

While describing the weapon system, Lockheed Martin said that it is the "highest power ever documented by a laser weapon of its type" and is economical too.

Recently, web magazine Engadget reported that the cost of firing one surface-to-air missile is about $400,000. The experimental laser costs about 59 cents per shot.

During testing, the truck was not actually running but was up on the props for the test with the engine running and in drive.

The testing was done so accurately that the laser put a hole in the truck's hood and disabled the engine, but did not destroy the vehicle. ATHENA’s 30-kilowatt fiber laser technology accurately blazed into the truck’s motor only a couple of seconds after being shot from a distance.

Lockheed Martin said that ATHENA uses spectral beam, which offers “greater efficiency and lethality" in comparison to the multiple individual 10-kilowatt lasers that are used by other systems.

ATHENA 30-kilowatt beam was created by the collective use of three 10-kilowatt lasers. ATHENA has the ability to stop ground-based adversaries long before they get close to front line operations, and thus could come up as a valuable innovation for the military. This is the first time ever that such a device was field-tested.

Keoki Jackson, Lockheed Martin’s chief innovation officer, said in a statement, “Fiber-optics lasers are revolutionizing direct energy systems. We are investing in every component of the system – from the optics and beam control to the laser itself – to drive size, weight, and power efficiencies”.