[throwaway020623]

Are there any laser weapons portable enough to use (either on a vehicle or a ship if the balloon is near the cost)?

I have read about lasers that are used against missiles and planes. I imagine that the balloon would be more fragile. Could it be hurt even if the laser has lost energy due to the high altitude?

[lm28469]

You usually don't show off your brand new never seen before army tech to a potential future enemy to pop a literal balloon

[closewith]

The YAL-1 with it's Mega Watt laser may have been able to burn a significant hole in the envelope, but it was retired in 2014: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_YAL-1

[mlindner]

Perhaps but they're not going to show off any new weapons to whatever Chinese sensors are on board.