That's much better than relying on CIWS weapons that fire bullets. Though it still took quite a bit of time to actually destroy the drone. I wonder how it would fare on a cruise missile. And I wonder if the tracking software is up to the challenge of dealing with cruise missiles as well.
And of course, what if the ship gets attacked in the rain or fog?
My guess is that it was more a demonstration of the fire control system than that of the laser. The final result may well be much more powerful. Also, anti-ship missiles move faster, smaller wings or control surfaces, have lots of critical electronics, and it takes a lot less to destabilize them as compared to what's really just an overgrown RC plane.
And as to rain or fog, I think the plan is to mount these with the rotary cannon side-by-side.
