The United States Army is testing lasers on the battlefield. Ionatron, Inc. of Tucson has developed a weapon called a femtosecond laser, which creates light pulses that last less than 10 trillionths of a second. These pulses carve a channel of ionized oxygen in the air which can conduct electricity. Then, the weapon blasts lightning bolts through these 30-foot channels of conductivity. This is said to be especially good at neutralizing bombs. Ionatron's CEO says his company will be sending 12 of these units to Iraq, the first one by the end of July.

Source [Defensetech]