Pentagon pours money into laser weapons for drone and cruise missile defense

The Department of Defense is investing millions of dollars in new laser weapons designed to shoot down enemy drones and cruise missiles. DoD announced agreements tied to its Joint Laser Weapon Systems program with nLIGHT Defense and Lockheed Martin Aculight. The initial award value is $86 million, with a total program maximum of $847 million.

The first prototypes are expected to have about 150 kilowatts of power, with DoD aiming to scale that to a 300-to-500kW range. The higher range is described as the anticipated power needed to counter cruise missiles.

Officials see lasers as a potential lower-cost-per-shot complement to traditional missiles and interceptors. DoD said the prototype systems could offer speed-of-light engagement, deep magazines, and significantly lower cost-per-intercept.

The pitch is especially relevant for high-volume drone threats, where using expensive interceptors against inexpensive targets can strain defensive stockpiles. With enough electricity, laser weapons could fire repeatedly, making them attractive for sustained defense scenarios.

Laser weapons remain experimental, and the US has spent years developing concepts for land, air, and sea. Bigger targets require more power, while the systems also generate intense heat that demands strong power and cooling infrastructure.

The Navy has explored battery packs to supply extra power for lasers, and the Army has tested lasers on Stryker vehicles to shoot down drones and incoming rockets. Business Insider notes that some directed-energy efforts have been cut or canceled because they were too difficult or costly to make practical.

A separate “laser source” is expected to develop a 500kW solution through the High Energy Laser Scaling Initiative, according to the announcement cited in the article. DoD framed the work around containerized high-energy laser weapons that could give combatant commanders scalable intercept options.

The key takeaway: lasers are not a replacement for every air-defense tool today, but the Pentagon is spending to see whether they can reduce pressure on traditional interceptors against drones and cruise missile threats.