The United States Army has conducted a live-fire exercise featuring its first operational use of directed energy weapons for air defence, targeting swarms of unmanned aerial systems.
During the exercise, soldiers were challenged to make rapid decisions in complex threat environments, managing target deconfliction and applying appropriate engagement protocols for both directed energy and kinetic systems.
While the Army highlighted the growing promise of direct-energy laser weapons, it also reaffirmed the continued importance of traditional kinetic defences.
Advancements in high-energy laser and microwave technologies are offering unparalleled precision and significantly lower cost per shot—capabilities seen as vital for countering large-scale drone attacks increasingly employed by near-peer and asymmetric adversaries.
