Northrop Grumman Corp. engineers in Redondo Beach have developed an electric laser capable of producing a deadly 100-kilowatt ray of light, a major milestone that is expected to help transform what was once a Buck Rogers space fantasy into reality.

Announced Wednesday, the landmark achievement — long considered a Holy Grail for weapon developers — opens the way for development of laser weapons small enough to fit in a fighter jet yet powerful enough to destroy an enemy craft in the blink of an eye.

Laser guns are still years from being used in combat and it may be the middle of next decade before they are installed on fighter planes, tanks and ships. But Northrop “proved” that a laser powered by electricity could generate a beam powerful enough to destroy targets in the battlefield, said Brian Strickland, the Army’s manager for the Joint High Power Solid State Laser program.

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