#laser-weapons

The US Army has decided not to advance its 300-kilowatt Indirect Fire Protection Capability-High Energy Laser system to a program of record, abandoning what would have been the most powerful operational laser weapon in its arsenal and revealing the persistent engineering gap between directed energy ambitions and battlefield reality.

Facing asymmetric drone warfare in the Middle East, the US Department of Defense has set a concrete 36-month mandate to deploy directed energy weapons at scale — ending decades of perpetual delays with an operational deadline backed by presidential attention.

US lawmakers have disclosed that a military directed-energy laser system destroyed a Customs and Border Protection drone, exposing dangerous gaps in airspace coordination for weapons testing.

A Pentagon task force will conduct a live laser weapons test targeting drones, advancing the military's directed energy counter-UAS capabilities.

An FAA airspace closure over El Paso after a laser counter-drone weapon was fired highlights how U.S. policy is struggling to keep pace with the rapidly evolving drone threat.

The USS Preble has successfully used its 60-kilowatt HELIOS laser weapon system to shoot down four unmanned aerial targets, marking a milestone for directed-energy weapons at sea.