GaAs-based photonic band crystal diode lasers with low vertical divergence and high output power have been designed and realised with a quantum dot active area at a wavelength of 1060 nm. Broad area lasers with 100 mm stripe width show low transparency current densities of 129 Acm (2) and high differential efficiency of 70 %. Devices of 1 mm length deliver up to 17.7 W pulsed output power and 2.6 W continuous-wave output power is demonstrated for 2 mm-long devices. The maximum output power is presently limited by catastrophic degradation in the pulsed case and by thermal rollover in the continuous-wave case. The full width half maximum vertical divergence of the fundamental mode of the devices is reduced to 13 degrees, being nearly independent of driving current.