Atomic, molecular and excimer gas lasers employ variety of pumping schemes including electric discharge, optical, or chemical reactions and cover a broad spectral range from UV to far‐IR. Several types of gas lasers are capable to produce multi‐kilojoule pulses and kilowatts of average power. Among them, excimer and high‐pressure molecular lasers have sufficient bandwidth for producing pico‐ and femtosecond pulses. Projects are under way and prospects are open to bring ultra‐fast gas laser technology to the front lines of the advanced accelerator applications. © 2004 American Institute of Physics