For decades the Pentagon has invested billions of dollars in high-power directed-energy systems from lasers to microwave beams that have promised—but failed to deliver—game-changing capabilities for decades. Not surprisingly, directed-energy programs have prompted skepticism among many military leaders, and rightly so.
This may finally be changing with the maturation of several directed-energy technologies. As CSBA Senior Fellow Mark Gunzinger argues on the most recent This Week in Defense News with Vago Muradian, several high-power directed-energy weapons appear ready to make a significant contribution to the U.S. military's capabilities and effectiveness.
In particular, our air and missile defenses may be materially enhanced with the deployment of directed-energy systems. These systems offer the promise of reducing the military's reliance on costly kinetic interceptor missiles that run into the millions of dollars each, an important consideration in a period of declining defense budgets.