The Pentagon wants to field laser weapons at scale within 3 years

[rangerrebew]

The Pentagon wants to field laser weapons at scale within 3 years
By Jared Keller
 Mar 18, 2026, 01:20 PM
 
Members of JIATF-401 and the FAA with the AMP-HEL system, March 7, 2026. (U.S. Air Force)
Editor’s note: This story originally appeared on Laser Wars, a newsletter about military laser weapons and other futuristic defense technology. Subscribe here.

For decades, the U.S. military’s dream of high-energy laser weapons has been perpetually “five years away.”


Now, the Pentagon says it wants to finally make them an operational reality within the next three.

Speaking on a panel at the National Defense Industrial Association’s annual Pacific Operational Science and Technology conference in Honolulu, Hawaii, on March 9, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies Michael Dodd stated that the Defense Department plans on fielding directed energy weapons such as lasers and high-powered microwaves at scale within the next 36 months to defend service members from the threat of hostile drones, National Defense magazine reports.

While the Pentagon has deployed a handful of laser weapons overseas in recent years for operational testing and officially designated “scaled directed energy” as a critical technology area in November, this accelerated push for widespread fielding comes as U.S. forces engaged in the Operation Epic Fury struggle to counter waves of Iranian Shahed drones raining down across the Middle East, according to fellow panelist Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering James Mazol.

https://www.militarytimes.com/industry/techwatch/2026/03/18/the-pentagon-wants-to-field-laser-weapons-at-scale-within-3-years/

[BobfromWB]

I suppose its too much to ask that they get the $2000 Sting drone killer and operator training from Ukraine. Better the multi-billion dollar, fancy, high tech energy weapons which, unlike the Sting, are unproven in combat.

[Smokin Joe]

I suppose its too much to ask that they get the $2000 Sting drone killer and operator training from Ukraine. Better the multi-billion dollar, fancy, high tech energy weapons which, unlike the Sting, are unproven in combat.

Stings are good, but a laser could be better, provided it can do the job effectively and economically. It will be more expensive up front, but in the end will it be cheaper to fire? Will it be more or at least equally effective?
I'd prefer to see both, as an exercise in technological depth in defense.

[BobfromWB]

Stings are good, but a laser could be better, provided it can do the job effectively and economically. It will be more expensive up front, but in the end will it be cheaper to fire? Will it be more or at least equally effective?
I'd prefer to see both, as an exercise in technological depth in defense.

Stings are here now & battle tested. Lasers are coming sometime in the future, but are not here now and are not battle tested.

Which unit costs more up front? The multi-billion dollar stationary laser unit which costs pennies to fire [ assuming it has a reliable and steady source of power ] or the mobile $2000 drone?