The Pentagon’s counter-drone task force, Joint Interagency Task Force 401, is set to test a high-energy laser system against drones at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico over the weekend.
“By working hand-in-hand with the [Federal Aviation Administration] and our interagency partners, we are ensuring that these cutting-edge capabilities are safe, effective, and ready to protect Americans from emerging drone threats,” U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, director of the JIATF-401, stated in a release. “Our measure of success is to quickly deliver state-of-the-art C-UAS capability to the warfighter, and this test furthers that mission.”
The release did not state the specific laser system being tested.
The test will be conducted in partnership with the FAA. It aims to address FAA safety concerns about lasers, and will gather data for the agency regarding eye safety for aircrews and potential effects on aircraft during tests conducted using aircraft surrogate models, according to the release. The trials will also test laser systems’ automatic safety shut-off functions.
The test will focus on demonstrating the systems’ built-in safety features and training protocols to allow operators to use them securely and effectively. The laser will engage a variety of targets.
High-energy laser systems are manufactured by many leading defense contractors and provide a “soft kill” approach to taking out small drones using photons, or light particles. The concentrated beams track small unmanned aircraft systems and burn them with focused rays, bringing them down without expending munitions.
The test is part of a steady upswing in the integration of laser weapons into the services. Last year, the U.S. Army released a Request for Information to obtain up to 20 high-energy laser weapons to kill three different classes of drones. This followed a U.S. Navy disclosure that the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Preble fired a high-energy laser weapon against a drone during an exercise.
Zita Ballinger Fletcher previously served as editor of Military History Quarterly and Vietnam magazines and as the historian of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. She holds an M.A. with distinction in military history.