Part of the attraction of lasers and railguns to the Pentagon is the “gee whiz “ high tech stuff, but a more practical is the “ needs no ammo (no exposives)” aspect of easier, never run out reloading. You need fuel for the HEL.
There’s also the direct line of sight and speed of light aspect of the LASER weapon. You shoot the target where it is, not where it will be when your projectile gets there.
Wow a lot of benefits.... Doesn’t jam, cost effective eventually, distance, speed of light, adjustable damage level, light weight, no recoil (use in satellites), better going through atmosphere from space....
No wonder everyone in StarWars uses lasers....