Breaking: The United States confirms it possesses directed-energy weapons and is continuing to develop them.
The United States has publicly acknowledged that it owns and is actively developing directed-energy weapons, particularly high-energy lasers and high-power microwave systems. These are not secret programs; they have been openly discussed for years by the U.S. Department of Defense, the armed forces (especially the Navy and the Army), and Congress through budgets, operational plans, testimony, and publicly available reports.
Operational possession and deployment:
The U.S. military has deployed operational directed-energy systems or limited prototypes since the mid-2000s. Examples include:
The U.S. Navy’s HELIOS system (High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance), a 60-kilowatt laser system installed on Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, operational since roughly 2019–2021 to counter drones, small boats, and other threats.
Operational possession and deployment: The U.S. Army has also fielded operational directed-energy systems or limited prototypes since the mid-2000s. One example is the Directed Energy Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense (DE M-SHORAD) system, a 50-kilowatt laser mounted on Stryker vehicles. Prototype units were deployed overseas (outside the United States) by 2024 to counter unmanned aerial systems and related threats.
Other systems, such as mobile high-energy laser platforms (e.g., P-HEL/LOCUST variants) and earlier experimental demonstrators (such as those deployed aboard the USS Ponce in 2014), further confirm the existence of operational experience—albeit on a limited scale (tens of kilowatts)—primarily focused on counter-drone and missile defense missions.
