The Dawn of Laser Weapons: US Army Deploys High-Energy Lasers to Defend Troops and Allies
The United States Army has reached a significant milestone in the development of laser weapons by officially deploying two high-energy laser systems overseas. These cutting-edge weapons are designed to protect American troops and US allies from the growing threat of enemy drones.
A Brief History of Laser Weapons
The concept of laser weapons has been around since the invention of the laser itself in 1960. According to Jeff Hecht’s book “Beam: The Race to Make the Laser”, the inventor of the laser, Theodore Maiman, once remarked, “In reality, the laser was more of a Life Ray than a Death Ray.” Despite the initial skepticism, the US military has been working tirelessly to turn the idea of laser weapons into a reality.
The Rising Threat of Drones
In recent years, the proliferation of weaponized commercial off-the-shelf drones has become a significant concern for US forces in the Middle East. These drones have been employed by various state actors (such as in the conflicts between Armenia and Azerbaijan and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine) and irregular forces like Yemen’s Houthis in the Red Sea, ISIS cells in Iraq and Syria, and Iran-backed militias across the region.
In 2021, then-Central Command chief Marine General Frank McKenzie Jr. warned US lawmakers that weaponized drones have become the greatest threat to US forces in the region since the emergence of improvised explosive devices during the early years of the Global War on Terror.
The Consequences of Drone Attacks
The threat posed by drones is not just theoretical. In January, a drone attack conducted by an Iran-backed militia on a military outpost in Jordan near the Syrian border resulted in the death of three US service members and injuries to more than 40 others. According to the Pentagon, as of mid-February, over 140 additional service members had been injured in attacks launched against American forces in Iraq and Syria since mid-October, with 130 of them suffering from traumatic brain injuries.
“There are several incidents where [drones] coming into a base hit another object, got caught up in a netting or other incidents where, had they hit the appropriate target that they were targeting, it would have injured or killed service members.”
Army General Michael “Erik” Kurilla, the current head of Central Command, attributed the relatively low number of American casualties in these attacks to sheer luck.
The Call for Directed-Energy Weapons
As the threat of adversary drones and missile attacks continues to rise, US military commanders have been increasingly vocal about the need for more directed-energy options. In January, as the rate of Houthi attacks on American warships and merchant vessels in the Red Sea began to spike, the Navy’s current surface warfare boss publicly emphasized the need for the service to rapidly accelerate the development and deployment of its directed-energy assets to counter not only drones but also incoming cruise and ballistic missiles.
The deployment of the Army’s high-energy laser weapons to the Middle East marks a significant step forward in the US military’s efforts to address these growing threats and protect its forces and allies in the region.
Navy Pushes for Accelerated Development of Directed-Energy Weapons
Countering Diverse Threats in the Red Sea
The U.S. Navy is grappling with an array of threats in the Red Sea, ranging from drones to land-attack cruise missiles and anti-ship ballistic missiles launched by Houthi rebels. Vice Admiral Brendan McLane, the Naval Surface Forces commander, emphasized the urgent need for directed-energy weapons, such as lasers and microwaves, to counter these threats effectively.
“What we’re facing in the Red Sea is more than just drones. We’re looking at land-attack cruise missiles, we’re looking at anti-ship ballistic missiles that are getting shot in the Red Sea by the Houthis. And our ships are dealing with all of those,” the Naval Surface Forces commander, vice admiral Brendan McLane, told reporters in early January. “One of the things that I think we really need to get after quicker is we need to accelerate the development of directed-energy weapons, whether it’s a laser, whether it’s a microwave.”
Boosting Investments in Laser Weapon Research and Development
Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro echoed McLane’s comments, expressing his enthusiasm for increasing investments in laser weapon research and development for the Navy.
Cost-Effectiveness of Directed-Energy Weapons
Developing and fielding laser weapons is not only a matter of practicality but also cost-effectiveness. Instead of relying on expensive munitions like the $2.1 million-a-shot Standard Missile-2 naval missile and $480,000-a-shot FIM-92 Stinger missile to counter relatively inexpensive drones, laser weapons can neutralize incoming threats at a negligible cost-per-shot ($1 to $10, according to a Government Accountability Office assessment from April 2023) and offer a virtually unlimited magazine when paired with an appropriate power source.
Staggering Costs of Countering Iran-Backed Attacks
The U.S. military has already spent nearly $1 billion in munitions since October to defend against Iran-backed attacks in the Red Sea and other regions, with an average cost of $100,000 per shot, according to officials. Given the Pentagon’s explicit goal of reducing counter-drone costs, lasers and other directed-energy weapons may prove to be a more cost-effective solution in the long run.
The Rise of Laser Weapons: Overcoming Challenges in Real-World Deployment
Confluence of Technology and Necessity
The intersection of technological progress and the pressing need to counter the proliferation of weaponized drones has created an environment that may spur the United States and its allies to accelerate the development and deployment of laser weapons globally, as stated by Kurilla in his congressional testimony in March.
Navigating Real-World Hurdles
However, obstacles persist. The primary challenge lies in ensuring that laser weapons systems generate a coherent laser beam as anticipated in real-world conditions, where atmospheric substances like water vapor, sand, dust, salt particles, smoke, and air pollution can absorb and scatter light, while atmospheric turbulence can defocus the beam, according to a Congressional Research Service report. Although these issues are more pronounced for shipboard lasers, the report suggests that engineering solutions can help these systems find a “sweet spot” in the electromagnetic spectrum to mitigate atmospheric absorption in maritime operations. The operational deployment of the P-HEL and testing of the DE M-SHORAD in the Middle East will reveal whether these systems can adapt to harsher environments.
Training and Doctrinal Adaptations
Beyond technical challenges, there’s the matter of training service members to effectively operate lasers in combat situations. The CRS report highlights that “thermal blooming”—where a sustained laser beam heats the air it passes through, defocusing the beam—makes head-on shots against incoming targets less effective. This issue necessitates training and doctrinal adjustments to compensate. While many US military laser weapons in development, like the BlueHalo Locust on which the P-HEL is based, require minimal training (it runs on an Xbox controller), the 2023 GAO assessment indicated that the US military must develop new “tactics, techniques, and procedures” for operating these novel systems in complex combat environments.
“What we don’t know yet for directed-energy systems necessarily is how to fight [with] them,” said Army lieutenant general Robert Rasch, head of the service’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office, which manages its directed-energy portfolio, in August. “How to fight lasers on the battlefield, how to integrate kinetic and non-kinetic effectors, like directed energy, and our traditional air-defense missiles into the battle space.”
The Power Conundrum
Even with enhanced training, evolving threats like fast-moving drones or hardened cruise missiles will demand a significant increase in power that most current systems cannot generate. The Navy’s 60-kilowatt HELIOS laser weapon, for example, aims to scale up to 300 kilowatts to penetrate the nose cones of incoming cruise missiles. However, the Navy’s surface warfare chief at the time, Rear Admiral Ron Boxall, stated in 2019 that the fleet’s new Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are already “out of Schlitz” due to the power requirements of operating the warships’ new AN/SPY-6 Air and Missile Defense Radar. As laser weapons become more potent to counter increasingly complex threats, power requirements will only continue to rise.
Logistical Hurdles
Even if laser weapons prove effective in the field with the right technology and training, US service members face complex logistical considerations in maintaining and repairing these highly sophisticated machines in austere environments, especially if they lack the necessary tools or expertise.
The Potential and Pitfalls of Laser Weapons in Modern Warfare
Overcoming Technical Hurdles
Despite the promising potential of laser weapons, the U.S. military faces significant challenges in their widespread adoption. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) assessment highlighted the sensitivity of internal mechanisms in directed-energy weapons, often requiring specialized “clean rooms” for repairs. In one instance, a laser weapon sent for testing had to be returned to the U.S. manufacturer due to battery and cooling issues.
“Lasers are complicated. This is not a Humvee that’s sitting in the motor pool. Many of the some of the main [laser] components … you’re not going to have a supply room or maintenance office full of repair parts.”
Lieutenant General Daniel Karbler, head of the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command, emphasized the complexity of laser weapons in August 2023.
The “Valley of Death” for Military Technologies
The challenges surrounding laser weapons could hinder their widespread proliferation across the U.S. military. The GAO report notes that many promising technologies often fall into the “valley of death”—a limbo between ongoing R&D and actual acquisition and operational use—due to the military’s requirement for a higher level of technology maturity than the science and technology community can fund and develop.
Despite the demand for laser technology among military commanders, issues like beam coherence and thermal blooming may prove insurmountable, potentially relegating laser weapons to the R&D graveyard alongside other ambitious projects like the Navy’s electromagnetic railgun. The P-HEL may represent a new beginning, but it could also be an exception that proves laser weapons aren’t ready for prime time yet.
From “Solution Seeking a Problem” to Addressing Real Threats
The inventor of the laser, physicist Theodore Maiman, once famously derided his creation as “a solution in search of a problem”—an idiom describing innovations that don’t address any real issue or offer tangible value. However, more than half a century later, the rise of deadly drones and missile threats has presented laser weapons with a pressing problem to solve.
While lasers are still far from becoming a ubiquitous piece of military technology, they hold the potential to revolutionize how U.S. troops counter airborne threats overseas and, ultimately, change the face of modern warfare as we know it.
5 Comments
Laser Tag isn’t just a game, it’s a strategy-packed battle where only the sharpest shooters dominate!
Laser Tag isn’t just child’s play; it’s the thrill of the hunt brought to life, where strategy meets agility!
Laser Tag’s more than just running around in the dark, it’s a chess match with lasers!
Illuminating the shadows, Laser Tag is an art in motion, and this guide? Your brush to paint victory!
Laser Tag mastery requires more than just quick reflexes; it’s about outsmarting your opponent at every turn.