I have a laser bore sighting device for the scopes on my rifles. Has about a half mile range and saves a ton of rounds sighting in a rifle.
I wondered about gun sighting systems. I have been a hunter since I was about 8, but I have only dabbled with any types of special optics, never felt the need to own anything beyond a good optical scope (outside of military service anyway).
So maybe there are some high power laser sights out there, or maybe a smart astronomer could create one with a simple telescope, but you still need to track, and depending on how far away and what aspect you are tracking from, staying focused on a cockpit window seems to me small challenge at least.
I am still curious how the beam was detected. Do commercial planes have detectors in the cockpit now, or did someone get blinded?