Air Force set to deploy prototype counter-drone directed-energy weapons based on high-power microwaves
WASHINGTON – U.S. Air Force officials say they will deploy a prototype of Raytheon's Phaser high-power microwaves counter-drone system for an operational evaluation within months. The Drive reports. Continue reading original article
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
26 Sept. 2019 -- The service has been experimenting with anti-drone directed-energy weapons, which also include lasers, in recent years as the threat of small unmanned aircraft has grown. A Raytheon representative has said that a recent mass drone attack that caused significant damage to oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia has highlighted these concerns "to the nth degree."
The Pentagon announced the counter-drone deal, worth almost $16.3 million, in its daily contracting announcements on Sept. 23, 2019. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is managing the program, which it says will include a year-long evaluation of Phaser at an unspecified location "OCONUS," or "outside the continental United States."
Work under the contract is set to wrap up on 20 Dec. 2020, meaning that this directed-energy weapons field test is set to start in January at the very latest. AFRL has previously tested Phaser at the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
Related: Directed-energy weapons taking big steps forward
John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics
