Obelisk of Light (Tiberium Wars)

"Tall, ominous towers of doom. Does wonders for morale"

- Anonymous GDI soldier, describing the structure

The Obelisk of Light is a shining example of military applications of LASER technology.

Overview
Born out of the need for a powerful defensive mechanism for Brotherhood military bases, the Obelisk is quite possibly the most powerful laser weapon in recorded history, result of Project Obelisk WDTA2411 5. It's mode of operation remained basically the same throughout the wars - massive capacitors underneath the structure amass power, which is then used to create a powerful laser beam, directed against enemies via a system of advanced optical and focusing systems. Obviously, it requires massive amounts of power to function.

With the coming of the Third Tiberium War, the Obelisk has been greatly improved. The Obelisk, although taking much longer to charge, is much more powerful than before. Also, its weakness against infantry has been negated to some extent. This is due to the fact that the Obelisk, when facing infantry or light vehicles, uses sweeping low power laser beams to vaporize them; also, Beam Cannons can charge up an Obelisk so that its range and attack power increases, when fully charged, it becomes possibly the most powerful and longest ranged ground defense in any TWIII arsenal. The new threats that Obelisks now face are enemy aerial assault vehicles, such as GDI's Firehawks and the various deadly Scrin aircraft, including their Devastator Warships and Planetary Assault Carriers. In addition, the Obelisk still requires a tremendous amount of power, and the destruction of power plants will render it as well as most of the base useless. Artillery units like the Beam Cannon, Juggernaut or Specter can attack from outside of its range, although when fully charged by Beam Cannons its range can surpass even these systems, at least when they are used for direct fire. Also, GDI finally has developed a powerful base defence to match the Obelisk, the Sonic Emitter, which is even more powerful than an Obelisk that has not been charged up, but is slightly more expensive and less accurate.

Nod managed to develop a portable laser for their Avatars and a triple laser cannon for the Redeemer. According to intelligence, these weapons were all based on the Obelisk's technology. The unit's immense size is probably why it could use such a weapon, since a Obelisk of Light requires a large structure. Smaller lasers were also created, however. They could be fixed onto Scorpion Tanks or Venom VTOL aircraft, amongst others. The Nod Commando in TWIII also had two laser pistols.