Yes, to me these problem with laser weapons seem fundamental. The thing which makes light interesting and useful is that it interacts so strongly with matter.

Yes, to me these problem with laser weapons seem fundamental. The thing which makes light interesting and useful is that it interacts so strongly with matter. So strongly in fact that they can be hugely affected by such things are air-density variations, fine particles in the air etc. So it seems the makers of anti-laser defences will always have options. Bullets and bombs on the other hand have the "nice" property that they interact strongly with solid matter but fairly weakly with gasses. (Yes, it's more complicated than that).