The U.S. Marines’ Next Anti-Aircraft Weapon Could Be a Laser:
"Every military in the world worth its epaulets is investing in drones. Now sensing
that drones could be a threat to U.S. troops, the Marines are working on a laser
to zap them out of the sky.
It’s called GBAD — for ground-based, anti-air directed energy weapon. The
Pentagon’s Office of Naval Research announced on June 11 it had awarded a
series of contracts for the laser, which the Marines hope will augment a looming
future shortage of anti-air Stinger missiles.
ONR has tested some components for the weapon already, and wants to carry
out field experiments with a 10-kilowatt laser later this year. In two years time, it
wants to triple the laser’s power to 30 kilowatts.
Eventually, the Marines want the entire weapon to weigh less than 2,000 pounds
and fit inside a Humvee and its replacement, the still-in-development Joint Light
Tactical Vehicle."
See:
https://medium.com/@warisboring/mari...n-141e7fc66c53