Tag: directed energy weapons

Navy’s Rush To Test Microwave Weapons Tied To Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile Fears

The U.S. Navy hopes to have a prototype high-power microwave directed energy weapon ready for shipboard testing by the end of 2026. The service sees weapons of this type as critical additional defensive options that will help its warships keep higher-end surface-to-air missiles in reserve for threats they might be better optimized for, including anti-ship ballistic missiles. The experience of American warships shooting down Houthi missiles and drones over the past six months has rammed home concerns about the magazine depth of the Navy’s surface fleets, issues The War Zone previously explored in detail in a feature you can find here.

Details about the Navy’s current high-power microwave (HPM) shipboard defense plans are included in its budget request for the 2025 Fiscal Year, which the service rolled out earlier this month. USNI News was the first to report on aspects of the Navy’s HPM plans from the new budget proposal.

The Navy has working toward a prototype HPM weapon system specifically for this role through a program called REDCAT since at least 2023. The service’s latest budget proposal says the plan is now to rename that development effort METEOR, for reasons that are not entirely clear and that we come back to later. REDCAT and METEOR both appear to be acronyms, but their meanings are unknown.

HPM weapons, in general, are designed to generate bursts of microwave energy that are capable of disrupting or destroying the electronics inside a target system. In a maritime context, HPM systems, as they are understood now, are best suited to providing close-in defense against missiles, drones, and small boats.

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Navy to Test Microwave Anti-Drone Weapon at Sea in 2026 

The U.S. Navy plans to mount a high-powered microwave prototype system on one of its vessels as early as 2026, according to the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget documents.

The system will come from the Navy’s Project METEOR, which is developing a directed energy weapon system prototype that the service plans to integrate on ships in 2026.

METEOR will “provide capability with low cost-per-shot, deep magazine, tactically significant range, short time engagement for multi-target approach, dual deception and defeat capability,” according to the budget documents.

This system will be the Navy’s first high-powered microwave, a type of directed energy weapon system that the Army, Navy and Air Force are exploring to counter cheap unmanned aerial systems.

Unlike other directed energy systems the Navy uses, the METEOR prototype will use a different kill mechanism to disable targets. Instead of a focused beam of light, HPM systems use microwave energy to inflict damage to electronics inside targets.

The Navy believes that this mechanism, which is unique to HPM systems, will be useful in defeating anti-ship ballistic missiles like the ones fielded by China’s People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force.

“Currently, the Joint Force suffers from a lack of redundant, resilient hard kill/soft kill options against stressing stream raid threats of Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles (ASBM),” reads the FY 2025 budget documents.

“The issue is particularly acute in the [U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility] due to the vast geographic distances involved, ship magazine size and adversary actions.”

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US scraps airborne directed-energy weapon program – media

The US Air Force has suspended its attempts to put a 60kw-class laser weapon on the AC-130J, its close air support aircraft, The War Zone said on Tuesday.

The military news outlet has received confirmation that the Airborne High Energy Laser (AHEL) program has been scrapped directly by the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). It linked the decision to the retooling of the Pentagon’s arsenals for potential conflicts with peer competitors, such as China.

The Lockheed AC-130 is a version of the C-130 Hercules transport, which the US has been using for over five decades in ground attack operations. The current AC-130J Ghostrider version was introduced in 2015. AHEL was supposed to add a directed energy weapon to the toolkit available for the aircraft.

The War Zone argued that AHEL was axed after years of delays because the Pentagon is preparing for “high-end” warfare, as opposed to counter-insurgency operations. The laser system was touted as an efficient way to deal with militants in an environment where US air superiority is not challenged.

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Newly declassified footage reveals Britain’s deadly DragonFire LASER weapon that can blow up drones and hypersonic nuclear missiles at the speed of light – and for just £10 a shot

A deadly laser weapon which can blow up drones and hypersonic nuclear missiles at the speed of light has been revealed to the public in newly declassified footage. 

The video shows Britain achieving its first high-power firing of the Dragonfire laser weapon, as it successfully destroyed a drone in the sky using the system’s death ray.

In these secret trials at the Military of Defence’s Hebrides Range, the weapon proved so accurate it could hit a £1 coin half a mile away, with each ‘shot’ said to cost around £10.

Its full range remains classified, but the invisible 50kW beam can cut through targets using it ‘pin-point accuracy’ and does not require any ammunition. 

The weapons platform, which military chiefs say will revolutionise the battlefield of the future, could one day be used to annihilate fighter jets, warships and hypersonic missiles. 

The MOD said: ‘DragonFire is an advanced military laser, being developed by Dstl and GB industry.

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US Deploys Anti-Drone Laser Systems in the Middle East to Field Test Prototypes

The Department of Defense has deployed four laser systems designed to intercept drones and rockets in the Middle East. The Pentagon has been developing a laser-style interceptor to reduce the cost of shooting down UAVs and rockets. 

Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Mingus announced the new deployment of Directed Energy Maneuver Short Range Air Defense (DE M-SHORAD) prototypes to the Middle East. The Army developed the weapons system in coordination with RTX, formerly Raytheon. The former employer of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, RTX, has received over $100 million to develop the platform. 

DE M-SHORAD, according to RTX, is a 50-kilowatt vehicle-mounted laser designed to intercept drones, missiles, and rockets at short range. RTX and the Pentagon believe laser systems will be a cheaper alternative for downing cheap drones and rockets. 

The four interceptors deployed to the Middle East are mounted on Stryker armored vehicles. The 2024 Pentagon funding bill authorized nearly $700 million in spending on the development and procurement of DE M-SHORAD systems. 

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FOIA Request Sheds Light on DIA’s Records Pertaining to ‘Havana Syndrome’

On February 22, 2024, The Black Vault received a long-awaited response from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed on August 25, 2021. The request sought all records related to the “Havana Syndrome,” a mysterious condition that has affected U.S. diplomats and intelligence officers since 2016.

Havana Syndrome first came to light when U.S. Embassy staff in Havana, Cuba, reported experiencing unexplained health issues, including headaches, dizziness, and hearing loss. Similar incidents have since been reported by American personnel in various countries, leading to speculation about the cause, ranging from sonic attacks to microwave weapons.

The Black Vault’s request aimed to uncover DIA reports, memos, assessments, and intelligence records pertaining to Havana Syndrome from 2016 to the date of processing. After a lengthy delay, the DIA located one document, consisting of six pages, responsive to the request. However, portions of the document were withheld under FOIA Exemptions 1, 3, and 6, citing reasons related to national security, protection of intelligence sources and methods, and privacy concerns.

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Multiple US military whistleblowers reveal how a disc-shaped UFO intercepted nuclear missile and disabled it with ‘laser-beams’ in mid-air over California

The US military is in possession of a video of a UFO apparently disabling a nuclear warhead during a routine test, according to multiple former officials.

They claim the video in question captured a saucer-shaped craft circling the unarmed, dummy warhead shortly after it detached from the Atlas missile booster, then shooting four beams of light at the warhead, disabling it.

Retired US Air Force officers Lieutenant Bob Jacobs and Major Florenze Mansmann claim to have viewed the recording of the 1964 encounter before the tape went missing.  

The former officials were part of a team responsible for capturing video of missile test launches in California with telescopic photography and videography equipment. 

Two days later, after they screened the video, they claim that two plain-clothed CIA agents confiscated the footage and swore them to secrecy.

The incredible account is part of a pattern that some UFO experts have identified, where UFOs seem to interfere with nuclear weapons. 

The alleged incident occurred nearly six decades ago, on September 15, 1964, but it has more recently come into public knowledge due to author Robert Hastings investigating it.

Luis Elizondo acknowledged the existence of the video and claimed he has seen it, according to a February 10 post by Hastings on The UFO Chronicles website. 

Elizondo says he was the former director of the Pentagon’s Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) program to study UFOs, and he has been involved in several high-profile leaks of military footage purporting to show UFOs.

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RAYTHEON IS BUILDING TWO ULTRA-HIGH POWER DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPONS FOR THE U.S. NAVY AND AIR FORCE

Defense contractor Raytheon has been tasked with designing, building, and testing a pair of directed energy weapons for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force. Unlike cutting-edge laser systems that use the power of light to down airborne threats, the new weapons will use ultra-powerful microwave emitters to fry the electronics of attacking drones, missiles, and other electronically guided ordinance.

According to RTX Corporation, which owns Raytheon, the two prototypes are expected to be delivered in 2024 and 2026, respectively.

DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPONS INCREASINGLY VALUABLE IN ASYMMETRICAL WARFARE

Traditional munitions like bullets use kinetic force to damage or destroy attacking vehicles and personnel. Unfortunately, the cost of more accurate systems like guided missiles is often prohibitively disproportionate when compared to the cost of the attacking vehicle.

For example, the Israeli Iron Dome system that uses missiles can cost as much as $100,000 per shot to bring down a drone or mortar that costs a mere fraction of that amount. Further complicating the issue is the fact that adversaries are increasingly using drones to mount attacks, including the October 7th, 2023, attack on Israel.

To counter what officials have termed asymmetrical threats, the Israeli government has installed a battery of laser cannons known as Iron Beam. According to an April 2022 tweet by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet, Iron Beam can down incoming mortar and drones at the cost of only $3.50 per shot.

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New British laser weapon in successful high power firing

During a trial at the MOD’s Hebrides Range, the DragonFire laser directed energy weapon (LDEW) system achieved the UK’s first high-power firing of a laser weapon against aerial targets.

The range of DragonFire is classified, but it is a line-of-sight weapon and can engage with any visible target.

  • First high-power firing of a laser weapon against aerial targets
  • Laser boasts pinpoint accuracy and low long-term costs

“DragonFire exploits UK technology to be able to deliver a high power laser over long ranges. The precision required is equivalent to hitting a £1 coin from a kilometre away. Laser-directed energy weapons can engage targets at the speed of light, and use an intense beam of light to cut through the target, leading to structural failure or more impactful results if the warhead is targeted.

Firing it for 10 seconds is the cost equivalent of using a regular heater for just an hour. Therefore, it has the potential to be a long-term low-cost alternative to certain tasks missiles currently carry out. The cost of operating the laser is typically less than £10 per shot.”

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Pentagon Seeks EMP Weapon To Eliminate Drone Swarms

Faced with the reality that drones are reshaping the modern battlefields in Ukraine and Gaza, the Pentagon has been tasked with finding a budget-friendly solution to eliminate these “flying IEDs.” While missiles are too expensive, and laser beams are a distant dream, the next best cost-effective weapon US military officials are eyeing up could be electromagnetic pulse weapons to counter drone swarms.

According to the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) website, the US Air Force has published a contract opportunity for private industry titled “Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Defense Against Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).” 

The service outlined the drone-killing features of the new EMP weapon it is seeking:

“The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL/RI) is conducting market research to seek information from industry on the landscape of research and development (R&D) for available Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) solutions towards countering multiple Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). EMP solutions could be ground and/or aerial based that provide effective mitigation against Department of Defense (DoD) UAS groups 1, 2, and smaller group 3 aircraft.” 

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