I expect the only limit here is human imagination. E.g., Hitler weaponized a microphone.
Kinda reminds me of Unreal Tournament's lightning gun, except they use a proton beam instead of a laser to guide the lightning bolt:
> "The Lightning Gun is a high-power energy rifle capable of ablating even the heaviest carapace armor. Acquisition of a target at long range requires a steady hand, but the anti-jitter effect of the optical system reduces the weapon's learning curve significantly. Once the target has been acquired, the operator depresses the trigger, painting a proton "patch" on the target. Milliseconds later the rifle emits a high voltage arc of electricity, which seeks out the charge differential and annihilates the target."
You mean, better than just using the laser to strike your target? Probably not.
Lightning is typically not the biggest problem with flying through thunderstorms. To my knowledge, it is the wind shear[1] that is most dangerous. There's also icing and hail that you may have to worry about.
[1] https://www.weather.gov/media/zhu/ZHU_Training_Page/llws/thu...
1. Does the protection extend to allowing airplanes to takeoff/land during a storm?
2. Can this be weaponized?
3. Can this protect forests from lightning initiated forest fires?