{
  "id": 7523250,
  "title": "The Pentagon tests lasers and microwaves against drone swarms",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/the-pentagon-tests-lasers-and-microwaves-against-drone-swarms",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-15T10:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Scientific American",
    "slug": "scientific-american",
    "url": "https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-pentagon-tests-lasers-and-microwaves-against-drone-swarms/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Pentagon is experimenting with lasers and microwaves to combat drone swarms. After decades of speculation, directed-energy weapons could provide the U.S. military with a more cost-effective solution for thwarting drones. In June, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico, where scientists had been testing electromagnetic energy for decades. Formerly the site of the first atomic bomb explosion in 1945, White Sands now hosted a demonstration of lasers and high-power microwave weapons designed to neutralize drones.\n\nDuring the demonstration, a U.S. Army prototype based on Epirus’s Leonidas system was fired at a swarm of 12 drones, causing all of them to plummet to the ground. The invisible microwaves had disrupted the electronics that kept the drones airborne. Hegseth also piloted another system, called LOCUST, which used its high-energy laser to take down a drone. Directed-energy weapons, while often more promise than reality, may finally have practical applications due to the proliferation of cheap drones that are increasingly difficult to defend against.\n\nThese weapons offer a cheaper alternative to traditional defenses, which are often expensive and limited in supply. Drones can be used for intelligence gathering and as weapons themselves, but conventional missile defenses are costly and logistically challenging. As Andy Lowery, CEO of Epirus, puts it, \"Mice are coming in, and the protectors—that are built to hunt lions or elephants—are getting kicked in the butt by the mice.\" Epirus hopes its microwaves can provide a cost-effective defense, likening them to a mousetrap.\n\nThe Pentagon recognizes the need for a solution to the growing threat of drones, which are central to conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as a potential threat on U.S. soil. According to Army Lt. Col. Adam Scher, drones are now a defining threat for the military. Scher, who serves as the strategic communications adviser for Joint Interagency Task Force 401, notes that the unit is dedicated to counterdrone innovation. Direct energy—lasers that burn through drones' hardware and microwaves that essentially fry them—forms part of the task force's strategy.",
  "summary": "After decades of hype, directed-energy weapons may offer the U.S. military a cheaper answer to the expensive problem of stopping drones",
  "key_points": [
    "Pentagon testing lasers and microwaves to counter drone swarms",
    "Directed-energy weapons offer cost-effective solution against drones",
    "Demo showed microwaves disrupting drones' electronics"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}