The U.S. Army is aiming to secure funding in fiscal year 2026 to launch a competition for a high-energy laser weapon system, with an initial focus on countering drones, senior officials confirmed at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium.
The planned “Enduring High Energy Laser” program marks a shift from years of rapid prototyping toward a scalable, field-ready capability.
Over the past five years, the Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) has built 17 directed-energy prototypes, ranging from 10-kilowatt palletized systems for fixed sites to 50-kilowatt lasers on Stryker-based Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) vehicles.
Eleven of those prototypes, including four M-SHORAD systems, have been deployed to U.S. Central Command.
Operational testing has shown promise for directed-energy weapons, which offer low cost per shot and deep magazine capacity, but the Army says reliability, maintainability and production scalability remain obstacles.
“We can’t get by with the thought of having clean rooms out in combat,” said Lt. Gen. Robert Rasch, RCCTO director.
To address these issues, the Army plans to issue initial capability documents to industry within 60 days and update its broad agency announcement later this year. The service is seeking modular designs with line-replaceable units that soldiers can swap in the field, particularly for high-failure components like optics.
Col. Adam Miller, who leads RCCTO’s directed-energy programs, said the new approach will separate vehicle integration from laser development, allowing systems to be adapted for platforms from Strykers to robotic vehicles. Industry representatives echoed the need to prepare for rapid production, warning that current supplier capacity is not ready for the anticipated demand.
If funded, the 2026 competition could mark the Army’s first major push to deliver high-energy lasers in quantity, moving the technology from “onesies and twosies” toward a scalable counter-drone capability.
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Post Image Credit: Jim Kendall/U.S. Army
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