US Army Tests Counter-UAV Laser Weapon For 2022 Written 7 November 2019

The Daily Mail (UK) reports that the US Army is testing a “deadly laser weapon” that is “so powerful it can melt through drones, helicopters, aircraft and incoming enemy missiles.” The 50-kilowatt laser device “will be installed on four Stryker vehicles and tested...as part of the Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) mission.” Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army Director for Hypersonics, Directed Energy, Space and Rapid Acquisition Lt. Gen. L. Neil Thurgood said, “The Army recognises the need for directed energy lasers as part of the Army’s modernisation plan.” Thurgood added, “This is no longer a research effort or a demonstration effort. It is a strategic combat capability, and we are on the right path to get it in Soldiers’ hands.”
Full Story (Daily Mail)