China in race for counter-drone technology and laser weapons as it tries to catch up with U.S.

China is moving to develop laser weapons and counter-drone systems as it tries to catch up with the United States on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology to boost its intelligence and attack capabilities, according to military analysts. That includes systems to protect its drones from lasers and spoofing techniques that send false information to UAVs. One system under development is Silent Hunter, a portable drone-killing laser weapon that is said to have a firing range of as far as 2.5 miles and was demonstrated at a defense conference in Abu Dhabi in February. Officials of Poly Technologies in Beijing, the company behind the Chinese counter-drone system, say they could pierce five layers of 2-millimeter-thick steel plates from a distance of half a mile. Experts say U.S. anti-drone systems are more advanced than China’s, and have a bigger range and more types of sensing technology available from a greater number of companies. The U.S. has more than 60 counter-drone systems or products that use radar, radio frequency, electro-optical, and acoustic detecting and tracking to intercept enemy drones and either stop them, hijack their communication links, or destroy them with lasers or projectiles, according to a report by the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College in New York.