The Army Has Officially Deployed Laser Weapons Overseas to Combat Enemy Drones

The Army has officially deployed a pair of high-energy lasers overseas to blast incoming enemy drones out of the sky, the service recently confirmed, marking a major milestone for the U.S. military's ongoing development of futuristic directed-energy weapons.

The 20-kilowatt Palletized High Energy Laser, or P-HEL, "is currently deployed to support the Army's mission" in an undisclosed location abroad, a spokesman for the service's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office, which manages its directed-energy portfolio, told Military.com.

The P-HEL, which is based on defense contractor BlueHalo's LOCUST Laser Weapon System, "commenced operational employment" overseas in November 2022, while a second system arrived abroad "earlier this year," the company recently revealed in a press release.