Pentagon wants to deploy lasers, other counter drone tech in US
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The arrangement is part of a broader effort to close regulatory gaps that have complicated the Pentagon’s ability to defend against proliferating drones.
PHOTO: AFP
- The Pentagon plans to deploy high-powered lasers and other counter-drone technologies at key US facilities to address growing drone threats.
- An agreement with the Department of Homeland Security and FAA will enable new tech to neutralise drones at airports and installations.
- Incidents exposing coordination gaps have led to approvals for lasers and microwave systems to defend against drones more effectively.
AI generated
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – The Pentagon is moving to speed up the deployment of high-powered lasers and other counter-drone systems around key US facilities, amid increased threats from unmanned aircraft.
The Defence Department will sign an agreement within days with the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Aviation Administration to use new technologies to bring down unmanned aircraft systems at airports and other installations in the US, David Bagnati, who leads a Pentagon taskforce on the issue, said on Aug 12.
“Did we ever think that the FAA would be talking about bringing counter-UAS equipment into the airspace,” Bagnati said at the Space and Missile Defence Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama.
“That’s where we are now. That’s where we are going. I think our interagency partners are with us.”
The arrangement is part of a broader effort to close what US officials describe as regulatory gaps that have complicated the Pentagon’s ability to defend against proliferating drones, and comes as the department tries to expand the capabilities available to commanders defending key military facilities.
Last week, Germany’s Leipzig-Halle airport, a major hub for transporting cargo and military equipment, suspended flights amid concerns about armed drones, while a cargo plane collided midair with a small unmanned craft.
The need for better coordination was underscored by a high-profile incident in El Paso earlier in 2026, when the FAA abruptly closed the airspace around a nearby airport after a military-loaned counter-drone laser was used by Customs and Border Protection without adequate communication with aviation authorities.
The airspace restriction was lifted hours later, but the episode exposed the gaps between agencies.
In a separate incident just weeks later, Defence Department personnel accidentally shot down a CBP-operated drone on the Texas border with Mexico using a high-energy laser, people familiar with the matter said earlier.
Since then, high-energy lasers have been approved for use at critical facilities, while high-power microwave systems are nearing similar approval, Bagnati said.
The two technologies give commanders more options than just shooting drones out of the sky. BLOOMBERG
