[jpitz]

>and you don't have any explosive and/or metal shrapnel falling back down into populated areas. ... if and only if the laser completely obliterates the target, which requires a fair bit more power and precision than a disabling shot.

[deeviant]

I was mainly speaking to the anti-aircraft weapon's addition shrapnel, rather than the drone itself. It's pretty hard to shoot down a drone without, ah, having the drone fall down. You can try some sort of hack, or radio blackout, but those are pretty easy to defeat.

But most modern AA weapons have tremendous velocities and are often explosive. Even after losses due to air resistance, AA shrapnel can come with with lethal velocities. I was told by somebody I trust that the Baghdad suffered more damage in financial terms from AA fallout than the actual US air strikes in the first US/Iraq war.

[FLUX-YOU]

Taking a page from Bane, just get a bigger drone to grab it.