These are not subtle effects. You either have an energy weapon that does visible damage to people and things, or it doesn't. Yes, incompetence is possible. You

These are not subtle effects. You either have an energy weapon that does visible damage to people and things, or it doesn't. Yes, incompetence is possible. You should not jump to "I mistake a candle for a burning skyscraper" levels of incompetence as your main model for a project that lasts a year and is extremely high-priority.