Directed-energy weapon
A directed-energy weapon is a ranged weapon that damages its target with highly focused energy without a solid projectile, including lasers, microwaves, particle beams, and sound beams. Potential applications of this technology include weapons that target personnel, missiles, vehicles, and optical devices.
In the United States, the Pentagon, DARPA, the Air Force Research Laboratory, United States Army Armament Research Development and Engineering Center, and the Naval Research Laboratory are researching directed-energy weapons to counter ballistic missiles, hypersonic cruise missiles, and hypersonic glide vehicles. These systems of missile defense are expected to come online no sooner than the mid to late 2020s.
China, France, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, India, and Israel are also developing military-grade directed-energy weapons, while Iran and Turkey claim to have them in active service. The first use of directed-energy weapons in combat between military forces was claimed to have occurred in Libya in August 2019 by Turkey, which claimed to use the ALKA directed-energy weapon. After decades of research and development, most directed-energy weapons are still at the experimental stage and it remains to be seen if or when they will be deployed as practical, high-performance military weapons.
Operational advantages
Directed energy weapons could have several main advantages over conventional weaponry:- Directed-energy weapons can be used discreetly; radiation does not generate sound and is invisible if outside the visible spectrum.
- Light is, for practical purposes, unaffected by gravity, windage and Coriolis force, giving it an almost perfectly flat trajectory. This makes aim much more precise and extends the range to line-of-sight, limited only by beam diffraction and spread, and absorption or scattering by intervening atmospheric contents.
- Lasers travel at light-speed and have long range, making them suitable for use in space warfare.
- Laser weapons potentially eliminate many logistical problems in terms of ammunition supply, as long as there is enough energy to power them.
- Depending on several operational factors, directed-energy weapons may be cheaper to operate than conventional weapons in certain contexts.
- Use of high-powered microwave weapons, which are typically used to degrade and damage electronics such as drones, can be hard to attribute to a particular actor.
Types
Microwave
Some devices are described as microwave weapons; the microwave frequency is commonly defined as being between 300 MHz and 300 GHz, which is within the radiofrequency range.Active Denial System
is a millimeter wave source that heats the water in a human target's skin and thus causes incapacitating pain. It was developed by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory and Raytheon for riot-control duty. Though intended to cause severe pain while leaving no lasting damage, concern has been voiced as to whether the system could cause irreversible damage to the eyes. There has yet to be testing for long-term side effects of exposure to the microwave beam. It can also destroy unshielded electronics.Vigilant Eagle
is a ground-based airport defense system that directs high-frequency microwaves towards any projectile that is fired at an aircraft. It was announced by Raytheon in 2005, and the effectiveness of its waveforms was reported to have been demonstrated in field tests to be highly effective in defeating MANPADS missiles.The system consists of a missile-detecting and tracking subsystem, a command and control system, and a scanning array. The MDT is a fixed grid of passive infrared cameras. The command and control system determines the missile launch point. The scanning array projects microwaves that disrupt the surface-to-air missile's guidance system, deflecting it from the aircraft. Vigilant Eagle was not mentioned on Raytheon's Web site in 2022.
Bofors HPM Blackout
is a high-powered microwave weapon that is said to be able to destroy at short distance a wide variety of commercial off-the-shelf electronic equipment and is purportedly non-lethal.EL/M-2080 Green Pine|EL/M-2080 Green P
The effective radiated power of the EL/M-2080 Green Pine radar makes it a hypothetical candidate for conversion into a directed-energy weapon, by focusing pulses of radar energy on target missiles. The energy spikes are tailored to enter missiles through antennas or sensor apertures where they can fool guidance systems, scramble computer memories or even burn out sensitive electronic components.Active electronically scanned array
radars mounted on fighter aircraft have been slated as directed energy weapons against missiles, however, a senior US Air Force officer noted: "they aren't particularly suited to create weapons effects on missiles because of limited antenna size, power and field of view". Potentially lethal effects are produced only inside 100 meters range, and disruptive effects at distances on the order of one kilometer. Moreover, cheap countermeasures can be applied to existing missiles.Anti-drone rifle
A weapon often described as an "anti-drone rifle" or "anti-drone gun" is a battery-powered electromagnetic pulse weapon held to an operator's shoulder, pointed at a flying target in a way similar to a rifle, and operated. While not a rifle or gun, it is so nicknamed as it is handled in the same way as a personal rifle. The device emits separate electromagnetic pulses to suppress navigation and transmission channels used to operate an aerial drone, terminating the drone's contact with its operator; the out-of-control drone then crashes.The Russian Stupor is reported to have a range of two kilometers, covering a 20-degree sector; it also suppresses the drone's cameras. Stupor is reported to have been used by Russian forces during the Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war.
Both Russia and Ukraine are reported to use these devices during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian army are reported to use the Ukrainian KVS G-6, with a 3.5 km range and able to operate continuously for 30 minutes. The manufacturer states that the weapon can disrupt remote control, the transmission of video at 2.4 and 5 GHz, and GPS and Glonass satellite navigation signals. Ukraine has also used the EDM4S anti drone rifle to shoot down Russian Eleron-3 drones.
Due to the threat posed by drones in regard to terrorism, several police forces have carried anti-drone guns as part of their equipment. For example, during the policing of the Commonwealth Games in 2018, the Australian Queensland Police Service carried anti-drone guns with an effective range of. In Myanmar, police have been equipped with anti-drone guns "ostensibly to defend VIPs".
Counter-electronics High Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project
THOR/Mjolnir
Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon (RFDEW)
This UK-developed system was unveiled in May 2024 and uses radio waves to fry the electronic components of its targets, rendering them inoperable. It is capable of engaging multiple targets, including drone swarms, and reportedly costs less than 10 pence per shot, making it a cheaper alternative to traditional missile-based air defense systems.High-Power Microwave system
Laser
A laser weapon is a directed-energy weapon based on lasers.DragonFire
An example of a laser directed-energy weapon is the DragonFire currently being developed by the United Kingdom. It is reportedly in the 50 kW class and is capable of engaging any target within line-of-sight at a currently classified range. It has been tested against drones and mortar rounds and is expected to equip ships, aircraft and ground vehicles from 2027.Integrated Drone Detection & Interdiction System
Particle-beam
Particle-beam weapons can use charged or neutral particles, and can be either endoatmospheric or exoatmospheric. Particle beams as beam weapons are theoretically possible, but practical weapons have not been demonstrated yet. Certain types of particle beams have the advantage of being self-focusing in the atmosphere.Blooming is also a problem in particle-beam weapons. Energy that would otherwise be focused on the target spreads out and the beam becomes less effective:
- Thermal blooming occurs in both charged and neutral particle beams, and occurs when particles bump into one another under the effects of thermal vibration, or bump into air molecules.
- Electrical blooming occurs only in charged particle beams, as ions of like charge repel one another.
Plasma
The MARAUDER used the Shiva Star project to accelerate a toroid of plasma at a significant percentage of the speed of light.
The Russian Federation claims to be developing various plasma weapons.
Sonic
Long-range acoustic device (LRAD)
The long-range acoustic device is an acoustic hailing device developed by Genasys to send messages and warning tones over longer distances or at higher volume than normal loudspeakers, and as a non-lethal directed-acoustic-energy weapon. LRAD systems are used for long-range communications in a variety of applications and as a means of non-lethal, non-projectile crowd control. They are also used on ships as an anti-piracy measure.According to the manufacturer's specifications, the systems weigh from and can emit sound in a 30°- 60° beam at 2.5 kHz. They range in size from small, portable handheld units which can be strapped to a person's chest, to larger models which require a mount. The power of the sound beam which LRADs produce is sufficient to penetrate vehicles and buildings while retaining a high degree of fidelity, so that verbal messages can be conveyed clearly in some situations.