With a 50-kilowatt laser mounted on a wheeled tank, the US Army wants to fend off drones in the future.
The US Army released new details on anti-drone plans at the missile defense symposium in Huntsville, California this week
announced
. With the Directed Energy Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (DE M-SHORAD), the army has developed a laser weapon that can be mounted on Stryker wheeled armored personnel carriers. The weapon is a 50-kilowatt laser that can be used in combat against drones, missiles, mortars and artillery.
Laser weapons against drones
The laser weapon has already been tested in several shooting exercises. After some initial difficulties, she was finally able to track and eliminate mortar rounds. The US Army is currently working on a smaller version of the laser with the Army Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser (AMP-HEL) project. A 20-kilowatt laser is used here, which can be mounted on small troop carriers due to its smaller size. Soldiers could use it to defend themselves against smaller drones. However, the smaller laser cannot do anything against rockets, artillery and mortars. According to the US Army, defense against drones is becoming increasingly important. In recent years, the threat posed by cheap drones with increased effectiveness in dropping ammunition on targets has increased sharply.