US Army targets 2028 for first high-energy laser counter-drone weapons

The first directed energy weapon selected by the U.S. Army for the Enduring-High Energy Laser (E-HEL) program could be out of testing and ready for counter-drone operations by early 2028, Army officials told Military Times at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual meeting in Washington. “We would love to be able to keep the first unit off the line for our testing and training. However, what we’ve seen is, with the environment as it is, everything that we produce as a capable counter-UAS system tends to get deployed somewhere,” said Kirk Williams, chief engineer at the U.S. Army Directed…