Directed Energy weapons are unlike conventional weapons in that they do not fire munitions but rather shoot lasers and microwaves at targets. They've been around since the 1960s but have been quite difficult to implement as a functional military weapon fit for service in the field, however, a number of Department of Defense programs are showing great promise.
These programs come in a dizzying number of coy acronyms such as ODIN, SHiELD, THOR, and CHIMERA being developed by the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Some of these systems are in a state of actual functional prototypes (indeed a few are already in active service) while others remain as little more than science experiments and concepts on the drawing board as far as non-classified sources explain.
Directed Energy weapons use great amounts of energy but offer a "deep magazine" since they do not need to be reloaded with bullets, shells, or other munitions.
Many of these weapons are intended to be defensive in nature, and DOD sees them as being used to counter incoming mortar and artillery fire, shoot down enemy drone swarms and eventually destroy ballistic and even hypersonic missiles as described by their ten-year roadmap laying out the future development of these systems.
The Air Force has developed the Tactical High-Power Microwave Operational Responder or THOR as a counter-drone weapon that can be packed into a shipping container and flown in a C-130 aircraft to be used for base defense. For longer-range counter-drone defense, the Air Force is working on the Counter-Electronic High-Power Microwave Extended-Range Air Base Defense (CHIMERA), the details of which appear to remain classified.
Meanwhile, the Army is looking at systems such as the Directed Energy Maneuver-Short-Range Air Defense (DE M-SHORAD) which can be mounted on a Stryker armored vehicle to shoot down incoming mortar rounds and enemy drones using a 50 kW, a capability successfully demonstrated during testing this year.
The Army hopes that "next-generation combat vehicles could feature an active protection system employing directed energy to protect the vehicle and to replace traditional mounted weapons," which conjures up images of Hydra's super weapons features in the fictional Marvel superhero movies.
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The Navy is very interested in Directed Energy weapons to use to counter enemy ships, drones, and anti-ship cruise missiles. The Navy's Optical Dazzling Interceptor, Navy (ODIN) system is designed to blind drones and is reportedly already deployed aboard Navy destroyers. The High Energy Laser Counter ASCM Project (HELCAP) is another system that is designed to shoot down enemy cruise missiles with a high-powered laser and is still in development.
While these technologies show great promise, Congressional researchers also warn that few have ever matured to the point that they are ready for military deployments, and developing the technology itself quickly runs into costing billions of dollars.
Interestingly, the report states that part of the hang-ups in development are related to DOD not fully understanding what they need to develop because they don't know much about the development of Directed Energy in other countries.
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"DOD is currently attempting to further define its DE collection requirements for the intelligence community (IC) through the Directed Energy Lethality Intelligence initiative," the report says, meaning that America's spies are being directed to cultivate overseas assets that can fill in these intelligence gaps.
The report also points out that Directed Energy weapons are not really addressed in international law and the laws of war but this would have to change as these weapons system mature. It is also worth noting that there is no mention of the Space Force, whose own documents have previously mentioned an interest in orbital weapons platforms.
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Reach Jack Murphy: jack@connectingvets.com or @JackMurphyRGR.