Beam Weapons, or Laser Weapons, are advanced weapons manufactured by human paramilitary organizations actively engaged in counter-extraterrestrial warfare. They are developed from attempts to reverse-engineer remnants of alienplasma weapons as said weapons self-destruct upon their assigned wielders' deaths.
EXALT laser weapons are functionally identical to their XCOM counterparts despite differences in their appearance.
EXALT laser weapons are not built from scratch. They appear to reuse the exteriors and interfaces of firearms, but mount the equipment to produce combat laser beams instead.