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04 Mar 2026
US firm to showcase new 70 kW system as Iran conflict and retaliatory strikes highlight drone threat.
High-power laser maker nLight has posted record-breaking annual revenues of $261 million for 2025, up 32 per cent on the prior year amid growing interest in the deployment of laser weapons.
CEO Scott Keeney told an investor conference call discussing the latest results that the 2025 jump was driven by a 60 per cent surge in sales related for aerospace and defense applications, which totaled $175 million.
The sales increase meant that the Camas, Washington, company was able to reduce its annual loss by more than half, as it posted a pre-tax loss of $22.8 million, compared with $60.9 million a year ago.
And Keeney cited the same demand trend as one of the primary reasons that nLight was able to raise $190 million in a follow-up stock offering completed last month.
“We intend to use a portion of these proceeds to build out and equip our new 50,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Longmont, Colorado, and to invest ahead of our demand in our supply chain and staffing to begin work on accelerating new product development,” the CEO said.
Partial industrial exit
While the initial generation of directed energy laser weapons - including Israel’s “Iron Beam” air defense - are based around 100 kW-class systems, one of nLight’s key contracts relates to the US military’s “HELSI-2” effort to develop a megawatt-scale system capable of downing high-speed missiles.
“The shipment of critical components towards the HELSI-2 program was a significant driver of our record defense product revenue in the year, and is expected to be a substantial contributor in 2026,” Keeney confirmed.
The surge in interest in laser weapons is one reason behind nLight’s recent decision to exit the more traditional industrial applications of laser cutting and welding, although the firm will still target metal 3D printing.
“Given the continued structural weakness in these industrial markets, during the fourth quarter we made the decision to exit cutting and welding,” the CEO told investors.
“This decision, while challenging, is a continuation of our resource alignment efforts as we focus on accelerating growth in our aerospace and defense markets.”
Drone defense
With Iran’s ongoing retaliation to bombardment by Israel and US forces highlighting the need for cost-effective drone and missile defense across the Middle East and beyond, nLight will showcase a newly developed 70 kW-class laser weapon at next week’s Pacific Operational Science & Technology (POST) Conference in Hawaii.
nLight will also discuss its recently released 30 kW and 10 kW directed energy systems at the event, while Keeney said that the firm had recently delivered a 50 kW for the US Army's “DE M-SHORAD” program.
“The successful delivery of this laser weapons module was an important milestone for our company, and we believe there is significant interest from the Department of War and the US military in developing these medium-power solutions in the coming years,” he told the investor call.
“Interest in US directed energy programs is increasing, particularly for counter-UAS applications, and we expect new contracts to be awarded in the coming quarters from different agencies.”
That includes the idea of a “Golden Dome” air defense umbrella similar to Israel's Iron Dome and Iron Beam, where a mandate for systems to be built in the US should benefit nLight, as well as growing international interest.
• Looking ahead, Keeney and his executive team are expecting to post a revenue figure of between $70 million and $76 million for the opening quarter of 2026.
Amid market volatility driven by the proliferation of conflict across the Middle East, nLight’s stock price has risen strongly since the start of the year, reaching an all-time high of nearly $75 before the widespread sell-off on March 3.
It means that the company’s valuation is now ten times higher than in the aftermath of the US tariff shock of April 2025, and equivalent to a market capitalization of around $3.5 billion.
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