Hrm. Tactical lasers a la THEL? Ever hear of this?
"All I want are some frikken strike fighters with some frikken laser beams on their wings! Throw me a bone here!"
From what I've read elsewhere, the laser would be a miniature, solid-state version of the Chemical Oxygen Infrared Laser (COIL) carried on the AL-1 Airborne Laser aircraft. The laser unit would be packaged in a "drop-in" turret that would take the place of the ducted lift fan located in the F-35 fuselage and would take power from the same drivetrain that powers the fan. My impression from conceptual art is that the laser turret would be steerable.