London, September 3 (ANI): If the US army has its way, the fictional world of Star Trek will come a step closer to reality, what with plans underway for the development of lethal laser guns in another five years.

According to a report in New Scientist, the Boeing company, manufacturers of commercial airplanes, has won a 36 million dollars contract recently from the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command to build the optics needed to track and focus lethal laser energy onto rockets, artillery shells and mortar rounds.

The High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator will use a new solid-state laser powered by electricity from a truck-mounted diesel generator, rather than bulky and dangerous chemicals.

Later this year, military engineers will stage a shoot-out between two rival designs for the 100-kilowatt solid-state laser.

The winning laser will have to be ruggedised to survive field conditions and made small enough to fit inside the truck.

The laser is scheduled to start shooting at real targets in 2013. (ANI)