“Heart's X1 demonstrator flew for 27 minutes from a regional airport in upstate New York, running on battery power the entire time.

…

The ES-30's design reflects a central problem in electric aviation: batteries store far less energy per pound than jet fuel. As aircraft get larger, battery packs have to grow too, leaving less room for passengers, bags, and freight. Batteries also don't get lighter in flight – a conventional plane sheds weight as it burns fuel, but an electric aircraft carries the same battery mass from departure to arrival.”

https://www.techspot.com/news/113540-heart-aerospace-30-seat-electric-plane-takes-flight.html

You probable need a hybrid for anything that would go to market, but this shows that electric can play a part

The Heart X1 uses four 400 KW electric motors.
Modern military solid state lasers can hit that target, while chemical military lasers hit 1 MW; problem is atmospheric attenuation, otherwise continuous ( line of sight however ) power can be transferred to keep batteries topped up.
At least for short intercity routes.

47 minutes ago, swansont said:

this shows that electric can play a part

They already do in the military.
The vast majority of small drones are electric, and there has been research into solar panel wingtops for MALE ISR drones.