America's Drone Shield Is Here: Pentagon Picks 4 Laser and Microwave Weapons to Guard US Bases

Concept illustration.

A $500 drone should never be able to threaten a $2 million missile — or a US military base. That simple math problem is exactly why the Pentagon just made one of its biggest moves yet into science-fiction weaponry: it has officially selected four directed-energy weapons — three high-energy lasers and one high-powered microwave system — for a year-long counter-drone pilot program at five military bases across the United States.

The selections, announced on October 6, 2026, mark the moment laser weapons stopped being laboratory experiments and started becoming a real layer of America's homeland defense.

What Did the Pentagon Announce?

The program is run by Joint Interagency Task Force 401 (JIATF-401), the Army-led organization created to coordinate counter-drone efforts across the US military and federal agencies. The pilot will place directed-energy weapons at real operational bases, where service members — not contractors in a lab — will operate and maintain them for a full year.

The goal is practical, not promotional: gather real-world data on how these weapons perform, what they cost to run, and what it takes to keep them working in the field.

As Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, the task force director, explained, high-energy lasers and high-powered microwave systems are tools that can be used effectively in a layered drone defense — and this pilot will show how best to integrate and sustain them to defend the homeland.

The 4 Weapons Selected

1. AeroVironment Palletized High-Energy Laser (P-HEL)

A containerized laser system built for mobility. Because it is palletized, it can be transported and set up where a threat appears — the kind of flexibility base commanders have been asking for. P-HEL has already been through live-fire safety testing at White Sands Missile Range, after which the FAA concluded the laser posed minimal risk to the national airspace.

2. Epirus Leonidas — The Swarm Killer

Leonidas is the odd one out, and arguably the most important of the four. Instead of a laser, it fires high-powered microwaves — bursts of electromagnetic energy that fry the electronics of drones. Where a laser engages one target at a time, Leonidas can affect many drones at once, making it the Pentagon's best answer to swarm attacks, the scenario military planners fear most.

Concept illustration.

3. Kord Firefly High-Energy Laser

Firefly is a high-energy laser designed for precision engagements against small unmanned aircraft. Lasers like Firefly hold their beam on a single point of the target — a wing, a rotor, a sensor — until the drone is disabled or burns through. The cost of each "shot" is essentially the cost of electricity.

4. Boeing Compact Laser Weapon System (CLWS)

Boeing's entry is built around compactness: a laser weapon small enough to be deployed flexibly at fixed sites or mounted for mobile protection. CLWS has years of testing behind it and represents the "proven and portable" end of the laser spectrum.

Laser vs. Microwave: What Is the Difference?

The Pentagon deliberately chose both technologies because they solve the drone problem in opposite ways:

High-energy lasers are snipers. They concentrate enormous energy on one precise spot of one drone at a time. They are extremely accurate and cheap per shot, but they engage targets sequentially and can be affected by weather.

High-powered microwaves are shotguns. They blast a wide cone of electromagnetic energy that can disable the electronics of an entire group of drones simultaneously — perfect for swarms — but with less precision over longer distances.

Together, they form the "layered defense" the task force keeps talking about: microwaves break up the swarm, lasers finish off what gets through.

Where Will They Be Tested?

Five installations were selected for the year-long pilot back in May:

• Fort Huachuca, Arizona — tied to the southern border mission
• Fort Bliss, Texas — also linked to border operations
• Naval Base Kitsap, Washington — home to critical naval assets
• Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota — a hub for unmanned aircraft operations
• Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri — home of the B-2 stealth bomber fleet

And this is only round one. The Pentagon plans a directed-energy "shoot-off" in December, where additional laser and microwave systems will compete for a place in the program.

Why This Matters

Cheap drones have changed warfare. Conflicts around the world have shown that small, inexpensive unmanned aircraft can threaten airfields, ships, and infrastructure worth billions. Shooting them down with traditional missiles works — but it is like using a gold hammer to swat flies. The missile often costs a hundred times more than the drone it destroys, and magazines run dry.

Directed-energy weapons flip that equation. A laser's magazine is its power supply. A microwave system can engage again and again. If this pilot proves these weapons can survive a year of real military use — dust, weather, maintenance and all — expect them to spread to US bases worldwide, and eventually to ships and forward positions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are laser weapons already used in combat?

Laser systems have been tested and deployed in limited roles for years, but this pilot is different: it puts multiple competing systems into everyday operational use at US bases for a full year to prove they are ready for wider service.

Can these weapons stop a drone swarm?

That is exactly what the Epirus Leonidas microwave system is designed for. Its wide-area electromagnetic bursts can disable many drones at once, while the lasers handle individual targets that break through.

When will the results be known?

The pilot runs for about a year from deployment. Expect interim lessons much sooner, plus a second wave of systems after the December shoot-off.

Our Take

The drone threat arrived faster than the defenses against it. This program is the Pentagon admitting that the answer will not be more missiles — it will be energy. Four systems, five bases, one year. The age of the laser shield has officially begun, and we will be tracking every test.

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