The Department of Defense (DoD) is developing a laser weapon for the U.S. Army that is expected to vaporize targets and disturb enemy electronics, according to reports.

The laser weapon designed for Army platforms, dubbed the Tactical Ultrashort Pulsed Laser, will reportedly emit short laser pulses capable of vaporizing targets, unlike current laser systems that emit uninterrupted beams that melt targets.

The team is attempting to design a system one million times stronger than current laser systems by reaching a terawatt for 200 femtoseconds (one quadrillionth of a second) — in that timeframe, the Ultrashort Pulsed Laser would be capable of vaporizing a drone.

In addition to vaporizing targets, developers also intend to use the technology to disturb the electronic systems of nearby enemies. Functioning as an electromagnetic pulse, the laser directed at metal would accelerate electrons strong enough to disturb the signals of nearby electronics.

The U.S. Army hopes to have a prototype of the Tactical Ultrashort Pulsed Laser available for trial in 2022.