A huge achievement in the U.S. military's constant improvement of future coordinated energy weapons has been reached with the Military's new affirmation that it has officially sent two high-energy lasers abroad to annihilate moving toward adversary drones.
As per a delegate for the Military's Fast Capacities and Basic Innovations Office, which supervises its coordinated energy portfolio, the 20-kilowatt Palletized High Energy Laser, or P-HEL, "is as of now conveyed to help the Military's main goal" at an undisclosed area abroad, Military.com said.
The P-HEL, which is based on the LOCUST Laser Weapon System from defense contractor BlueHalo, "commenced operational employment" overseas in November 2022, and a second system arrived overseas "earlier this year," according to a press statement by the business.
The announcement of the P-HEL's operational employment represents the first time the U.S. military has publicly acknowledged the deployment of a functional laser weapon for air defense outside of experimental testing, even though the Army's top general in charge of counter-drone efforts had previously said that a number of different laser weapons systems were undergoing "operational assessments" in the U.S. Central Command, U.S. Africa Command, and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command areas of responsibility.
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What Are the Capabilities of US Military Laser Weapons?

Whether the P-HEL has yet to "kill" an approaching drone was not confirmed by the service.
The Army remains engaged to testing and integrating cutting-edge technologies, such as directed energy, as part of its continual efforts to ensure the safety of our soldiers and effectively support the United States' the mission, the spokesperson for the Army stated.
When directed through a beam director, laser weapons' powerful stream of photons may burn through a variety of materials, including the hull of a small boat, the carbon fiber body of a drone, and the casing of a rocket or mortar.
In a video of P-HEL testing that BlueHalo provided to Military.com, an operator repositions the pallet-mounted laser array using an Xbox controller, then looks up into the sky for approaching targets before latching onto a moving quadcopter drone that quickly catches fire and falls from the sky. On a rocket, the effect is rapidly replicated.
The Defense Department's top spokesman had previously implied that directed-energy weapons were a component of the defensive arsenal of U.S. military forces in the Middle East currently facing the continuous drone and missile attacks since Israel's war in Gaza began in October, even though the service declined to specify where the P-HEL systems were deployed, citing operational security.
On October 31, Pentagon spokesman then-Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters, "I don't want to go into the specific capabilities that we're using to protect our forces, other than to say we have a wide variety which does include directed-energy capabilities," in response to weeks of rocket and missile attacks on American troops in Syria and Iraq.
Furthermore, during a March Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, U.S. Central Command Chief Gen. Michael "Erik" Kurilla informed lawmakers that the Army had "sent us some directed-energy, mobile, short-range air defense that we are experimenting with right now over in the Middle East."
A request for response from Central Command was not answered by the deadline.
The biggest threat to American troops in the Middle East since the spread of the improvised explosive device, according to U.S. military leaders, is cheap weaponized drones, such as those being launched more frequently at service members stationed at outposts in Iraq and Syria and warships in the Red Sea.
Three American service members were killed in a drone attack on a military outpost in Jordan in January, and as of February, the Pentagon reported that drone and missile attacks had caused 183 additional casualties among troops stationed in Iraq and Syria, including more than 130 traumatic brain injuries.
The hiring of the P-HEL occurs as the U.S. military looks to improve its air defense capabilities to protect service members overseas not only with costly conventional munitions, like the $480,000 Stinger missile and the $2.1 million Standard Missile-2 naval missile, which have contributed to the Pentagon's $1 billion tab in the Middle East since October, but also with efficient, less expensive counter-drone solutions that can destroy incoming threats without breaking the bank. According to the military, the Army has allocated around $447 million for research, development, testing, and evaluation of counter-drone projects in its fiscal 2025 budget, with $140 million of that amount going toward directed-energy initiatives.
Must Read: Was former Vice President Biden charged with failing to pay federal income tax and illegally having a weapon?
Exploring the Potential of Laser Technology in Defense
In order to specifically assist its counter-drone efforts in the Middle East, the Army signed a contract with military manufacturer Raytheon in February for hundreds of Coyote Block 2C interceptors, at a cost of $100,000 each.
In order to counter "emerging and persistent [drone] threats" in the Central Command area of responsibility, the Navy placed a "urgent" order with MSI Defense Solutions in April for the truck-mounted Electronic Advanced Ground Launcher Systems, or EAGLS, equipped with laser-guided Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II rockets, which cost $25,000.
The Army and Marine Corps are actively searching for more counter-drone technology in the meanwhile.
A laser weapon may fundamentally alter that cost calculation if it were operationally proven: A 2023 Government Accountability Office analysis found that the average laser weapon costs only $1 to $10 each shot.
Additionally, military leaders are considering options other than lasers. In order to close loopholes in U.S. air defenses in the Middle East, Kurilla urged Congress in March to take into consideration accelerating the development of strong microwaves, which are directed-energy weapons capable of blanketing an area with intense electromagnetic radiation and incapacitating several targets at once.
The greater concern is if you start talking about [drone] swarms, so we need to continue to invest in things like high-powered radiofrequency [sic] to be able to counter a drone swarm that is coming at you," Kurilla stated. "After all, nothing is perfect. The law of numbers will eventually catch up with you. You must have a multi-layered defense.
Although the P-HEL is not the first high-energy laser system to be used downrange by American soldiers abroad, its present use by the Army as an air defense system marks a turning point for the service's directed-energy weapons.
Additionally, the deployment of the P-HEL could portend future developments.
In addition to sending a platoon of four 50-kilowatt Directed Energy Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense, or DE M-SHORAD, prototypes to Central Command for "real world testing," the Army has also acquired its most potent laser to date, the 300-kilowatt Indirect Fire Protection Capability-High Energy Laser, or IFPC-HEL, in recent months in anticipation of possible cruise missile counterattacks. A 20-kilowatt laser system for the Army Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser, or AMP-HEL, was also given a contract by the military to P-HEL manufacturer BlueHalo last year. This system will eventually be integrated into the army's next Infantry Squad Vehicle.
A huge achievement in the U.S. military's constant improvement of future coordinated energy weapons has been reached with the Military's new affirmation that it has officially sent two high-energy lasers abroad to annihilate moving toward adversary drones.
As per a delegate for the Military's Fast Capacities and Basic Innovations Office, which supervises its coordinated energy portfolio, the 20-kilowatt Palletized High Energy Laser, or P-HEL, "is as of now conveyed to help the Military's main goal" at an undisclosed area abroad, Military.com said.
The P-HEL, which is based on the LOCUST Laser Weapon System from defense contractor BlueHalo, "commenced operational employment" overseas in November 2022, and a second system arrived overseas "earlier this year," according to a press statement by the business.
The announcement of the P-HEL's operational employment represents the first time the U.S. military has publicly acknowledged the deployment of a functional laser weapon for air defense outside of experimental testing, even though the Army's top general in charge of counter-drone efforts had previously said that a number of different laser weapons systems were undergoing "operational assessments" in the U.S. Central Command, U.S. Africa Command, and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command areas of responsibility.
Read Also: Does the USS Georgia carry nuclear weapons?
What Are the Capabilities of US Military Laser Weapons?
Whether the P-HEL has yet to "kill" an approaching drone was not confirmed by the service.
The Army remains engaged to testing and integrating cutting-edge technologies, such as directed energy, as part of its continual efforts to ensure the safety of our soldiers and effectively support the United States' the mission, the spokesperson for the Army stated.
When directed through a beam director, laser weapons' powerful stream of photons may burn through a variety of materials, including the hull of a small boat, the carbon fiber body of a drone, and the casing of a rocket or mortar.
In a video of P-HEL testing that BlueHalo provided to Military.com, an operator repositions the pallet-mounted laser array using an Xbox controller, then looks up into the sky for approaching targets before latching onto a moving quadcopter drone that quickly catches fire and falls from the sky. On a rocket, the effect is rapidly replicated.
The Defense Department's top spokesman had previously implied that directed-energy weapons were a component of the defensive arsenal of U.S. military forces in the Middle East currently facing the continuous drone and missile attacks since Israel's war in Gaza began in October, even though the service declined to specify where the P-HEL systems were deployed, citing operational security.
On October 31, Pentagon spokesman then-Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters, "I don't want to go into the specific capabilities that we're using to protect our forces, other than to say we have a wide variety which does include directed-energy capabilities," in response to weeks of rocket and missile attacks on American troops in Syria and Iraq.
Furthermore, during a March Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, U.S. Central Command Chief Gen. Michael "Erik" Kurilla informed lawmakers that the Army had "sent us some directed-energy, mobile, short-range air defense that we are experimenting with right now over in the Middle East."
A request for response from Central Command was not answered by the deadline.
The biggest threat to American troops in the Middle East since the spread of the improvised explosive device, according to U.S. military leaders, is cheap weaponized drones, such as those being launched more frequently at service members stationed at outposts in Iraq and Syria and warships in the Red Sea.
Three American service members were killed in a drone attack on a military outpost in Jordan in January, and as of February, the Pentagon reported that drone and missile attacks had caused 183 additional casualties among troops stationed in Iraq and Syria, including more than 130 traumatic brain injuries.
The hiring of the P-HEL occurs as the U.S. military looks to improve its air defense capabilities to protect service members overseas not only with costly conventional munitions, like the $480,000 Stinger missile and the $2.1 million Standard Missile-2 naval missile, which have contributed to the Pentagon's $1 billion tab in the Middle East since October, but also with efficient, less expensive counter-drone solutions that can destroy incoming threats without breaking the bank. According to the military, the Army has allocated around $447 million for research, development, testing, and evaluation of counter-drone projects in its fiscal 2025 budget, with $140 million of that amount going toward directed-energy initiatives.
Must Read: Was former Vice President Biden charged with failing to pay federal income tax and illegally having a weapon?
Exploring the Potential of Laser Technology in Defense
In order to specifically assist its counter-drone efforts in the Middle East, the Army signed a contract with military manufacturer Raytheon in February for hundreds of Coyote Block 2C interceptors, at a cost of $100,000 each.
In order to counter "emerging and persistent [drone] threats" in the Central Command area of responsibility, the Navy placed a "urgent" order with MSI Defense Solutions in April for the truck-mounted Electronic Advanced Ground Launcher Systems, or EAGLS, equipped with laser-guided Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II rockets, which cost $25,000.
The Army and Marine Corps are actively searching for more counter-drone technology in the meanwhile.
A laser weapon may fundamentally alter that cost calculation if it were operationally proven: A 2023 Government Accountability Office analysis found that the average laser weapon costs only $1 to $10 each shot.
Additionally, military leaders are considering options other than lasers. In order to close loopholes in U.S. air defenses in the Middle East, Kurilla urged Congress in March to take into consideration accelerating the development of strong microwaves, which are directed-energy weapons capable of blanketing an area with intense electromagnetic radiation and incapacitating several targets at once.
The greater concern is if you start talking about [drone] swarms, so we need to continue to invest in things like high-powered radiofrequency [sic] to be able to counter a drone swarm that is coming at you," Kurilla stated. "After all, nothing is perfect. The law of numbers will eventually catch up with you. You must have a multi-layered defense.
Although the P-HEL is not the first high-energy laser system to be used downrange by American soldiers abroad, its present use by the Army as an air defense system marks a turning point for the service's directed-energy weapons.
Additionally, the deployment of the P-HEL could portend future developments.
In addition to sending a platoon of four 50-kilowatt Directed Energy Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense, or DE M-SHORAD, prototypes to Central Command for "real world testing," the Army has also acquired its most potent laser to date, the 300-kilowatt Indirect Fire Protection Capability-High Energy Laser, or IFPC-HEL, in recent months in anticipation of possible cruise missile counterattacks. A 20-kilowatt laser system for the Army Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser, or AMP-HEL, was also given a contract by the military to P-HEL manufacturer BlueHalo last year. This system will eventually be integrated into the army's next Infantry Squad Vehicle.