Lasers 1, Mortars 0

Most civilians aren't aware that in a conventional war, only ~10% of battlefield casualties come from bullets but over 50% come from shrapnel. One of the most devastating and ubiquitous sources of this is the mortar. In tests last week at the White Sands Missile Range, the Army demonstrated using a laser weapon to blast individual mortar rounds and salvos of mortar shells. That's the first time a "directed energy" weapon has been used for this purpose. Previously, most of the demonstrations had focused on knocking down missiles.