{"id":13266091,"date":"2026-08-17T16:35:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T14:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T16:36:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T14:36:33","slug":"pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pentagon Wants Lasers That Fly"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n<p>Cheap drones have humbled expensive air defenses for years now. The Pentagon&rsquo;s answer keeps coming back to the same idea: a weapon that fires light, costs pennies a shot, and never runs out of magazine. This week a senior Defense Department official told industry to stop talking about it and start flying it.<\/p>\r\n<p>Mike Dodd, the assistant secretary of defense for critical technologies, used an 12 August post on X to push for &ldquo;lighter, more efficient&rdquo; directed-energy weapons small enough to ride on aircraft &mdash; for shooting down drones, for special operations, and for jamming an enemy&rsquo;s command links.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;padding:20px;border-radius:8px;margin:24px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;font-size:18px\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:20px;line-height:1.8\"><li><strong>Who:<\/strong> Mike Dodd, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies<\/li><li><strong>The ask:<\/strong> &ldquo;smaller, lighter, more efficient&rdquo; directed-energy weapons for aircraft<\/li><li><strong>Missions:<\/strong> counter-drone, expeditionary, special operations, disrupting enemy command and control<\/li><li><strong>Why lasers:<\/strong> deep magazines, low cost per shot, less collateral damage than explosives<\/li><li><strong>Budget:<\/strong> the Air Force requested $91.8M for directed-energy research in 2027<\/li><li><strong>Past setback:<\/strong> the AC-130J&rsquo;s airborne laser (AHEL) was canceled in 2024<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">&ldquo;Size, weight, and power decide what flies&rdquo;<\/h2>\r\n<p>That line, from Dodd&rsquo;s post, is the whole problem in six words. Lasers and high-power microwaves work; making them light enough to hang on an airframe without eating its payload and range is the hard part. Dodd wants hardware on aircraft and high-altitude platforms &mdash; not another briefing.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"max-width:550px;margin:0 auto 28px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=2087653153432899870&theme=light\" style=\"width:100%;height:560px;border:none;border-radius:12px;overflow:hidden\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><em>&ldquo;Smaller. Lighter. More efficient. Size, weight, and power decide what flies. We want tech on aircraft and high-altitude platforms for counter-drone, expeditionary and special operations missions, and disrupting adversary C2.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Mike Dodd<\/strong> &mdash; Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies<\/div><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A quiet stretch, and a big cancellation<\/h2>\r\n<p>The Air Force&rsquo;s directed-energy work has gone quiet lately. Its trailer-sized THOR microwave system last publicly zapped a drone swarm back in 2023, with a follow-on called &ldquo;Mjolnir&rdquo; announced but not yet tested. And the service&rsquo;s most ambitious airborne effort &mdash; a high-energy laser for the AC-130J Ghostrider gunship &mdash; was killed in 2024 after it missed its flight-test window.<\/p>\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img data-opt-id=245754953  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/directed-energy-laser-weapon.jpg\" alt=\"An AC-130J Ghostrider gunship refuels in flight\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The AC-130J Ghostrider was to carry an airborne high-energy laser before the program was canceled in 2024. US Air Force photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Cleared to fire at home<\/h2>\r\n<p>One thing has changed in the weapons&rsquo; favor: they can finally be tested over U.S. soil. After a military counter-drone laser forced the FAA to shut down the airspace over El Paso in early 2026, the Pentagon and FAA worked out a safety deal that reopened the door.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><em>&ldquo;We are now accepted to use high-energy lasers in the national airspace.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>David Bagnati<\/strong> &mdash; Executive Director, Joint Interagency Task Force 401<\/div><\/div>\r\n<p>Dodd&rsquo;s challenge to industry was blunter still: &ldquo;Bring us your best. Not slideware&mdash;hardware we can put on a range and stress.&rdquo; After years of promise, the Pentagon wants beams it can actually fly.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-style:italic;color:#777;font-size:14px;margin-top:24px\">Sources: Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine; Mike Dodd via X (12 Aug 2026); remarks by David Bagnati at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium, Huntsville, Ala. Budget figures per USAF 2027 request.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/usaf-compact-laser-weapon-system-europe-counter-drone-2026\/\">The USAF Brings a Laser to Europe&rsquo;s Drone Fight<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/centcom-task-force-falcon-strike-attack-drones-2026\/\">CENTCOM Builds a Drone Army in the Gulf<\/a><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cheap drones have humbled expensive air defenses for years now. The Pentagon&rsquo;s answer keeps coming back to the same idea: a weapon that fires light, costs pennies a shot, and never runs out of magazine. This week a senior Defense Department official told industry to stop talking about it and start flying it. Mike Dodd, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":13265825,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[664,670],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13266091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-aviation","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pentagon Wants Airborne Directed Energy Weapons<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A top Pentagon official is pushing industry for lighter airborne directed energy weapons to down drones, as US laser testing over home soil finally reopens.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pentagon Wants Airborne Directed Energy Weapons\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A top Pentagon official is pushing industry for lighter airborne directed energy weapons to down drones, as US laser testing over home soil finally reopens.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Afterburner - MiGFlug&#039;s Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-17T14:35:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-17T14:36:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:1280\/h:853\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/ac-130j-ghostrider-gunship.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"853\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Connor Kerr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Connor Kerr\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Connor Kerr\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9\"},\"headline\":\"The Pentagon Wants Lasers That Fly\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-17T14:35:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-17T14:36:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":540,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/08\\/ac-130j-ghostrider-gunship.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Military Aviation\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\\\/\",\"name\":\"Pentagon Wants Airborne Directed Energy Weapons\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/08\\/ac-130j-ghostrider-gunship.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-17T14:35:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-17T14:36:33+00:00\",\"description\":\"A top Pentagon official is pushing industry for lighter airborne directed energy weapons to down drones, as US laser testing over home soil finally reopens.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/08\\/ac-130j-ghostrider-gunship.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/08\\/ac-130j-ghostrider-gunship.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":853,\"caption\":\"An AC-130J Ghostrider gunship takes off for a training flight during Exercise Trojan Footprint at 33rd Air Base in Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, May 8, 2022. The Air Force\u2019s fifth generation gunship, the primary missions of the AC-130J are close air support, air interdiction and armed reconnaissance. Trojan Footprint is the premier Special Operations Forces (SOF) exercise in Europe that focuses on improving the ability of SOF to counter myriad threats, increases integration with conventional forces and enhances interoperability with our NATO allies and European partners. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Max J. Daigle)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Pentagon Wants Lasers That Fly\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\",\"name\":\"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine\",\"description\":\"for those interested in flying military jets and aviation related  topics\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"width\":897,\"height\":278,\"caption\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/MiGFlug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/migflug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/migflug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/MiGFlug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/migflug.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.ch\\\/migflug\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9\",\"name\":\"Connor Kerr\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Connor Kerr\"},\"description\":\"Connor Kerr writes MiGFlug\u2019s long-form features \u2014 aviation history, how-it-works explainers and the stories behind the headlines.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/author\\\/connorkerr\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pentagon Wants Airborne Directed Energy Weapons","description":"A top Pentagon official is pushing industry for lighter airborne directed energy weapons to down drones, as US laser testing over home soil finally reopens.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pentagon Wants Airborne Directed Energy Weapons","og_description":"A top Pentagon official is pushing industry for lighter airborne directed energy weapons to down drones, as US laser testing over home soil finally reopens.","og_url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\/","og_site_name":"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","article_published_time":"2026-08-17T14:35:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-17T14:36:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":853,"url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:1280\/h:853\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/ac-130j-ghostrider-gunship.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Connor Kerr","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@migflug","twitter_site":"@migflug","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Connor Kerr","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\/"},"author":{"name":"Connor Kerr","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/person\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9"},"headline":"The Pentagon Wants Lasers That Fly","datePublished":"2026-08-17T14:35:49+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-17T14:36:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\/"},"wordCount":540,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/ac-130j-ghostrider-gunship.jpg","articleSection":["Military Aviation","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\/","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\/","name":"Pentagon Wants Airborne Directed Energy Weapons","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/ac-130j-ghostrider-gunship.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-17T14:35:49+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-17T14:36:33+00:00","description":"A top Pentagon official is pushing industry for lighter airborne directed energy weapons to down drones, as US laser testing over home soil finally reopens.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/ac-130j-ghostrider-gunship.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/ac-130j-ghostrider-gunship.jpg","width":1280,"height":853,"caption":"An AC-130J Ghostrider gunship takes off for a training flight during Exercise Trojan Footprint at 33rd Air Base in Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, May 8, 2022. The Air Force\u2019s fifth generation gunship, the primary missions of the AC-130J are close air support, air interdiction and armed reconnaissance. Trojan Footprint is the premier Special Operations Forces (SOF) exercise in Europe that focuses on improving the ability of SOF to counter myriad threats, increases integration with conventional forces and enhances interoperability with our NATO allies and European partners. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Max J. Daigle)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/pentagon-airborne-directed-energy-weapons-counter-drone-2026\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Pentagon Wants Lasers That Fly"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#website","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/","name":"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","description":"for those interested in flying military jets and aviation related  topics","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization","name":"MiGFlug GmbH","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","width":897,"height":278,"caption":"MiGFlug GmbH"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","https:\/\/x.com\/migflug","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/migflug\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MiGFlug","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/migflug.com\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.ch\/migflug\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/person\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9","name":"Connor Kerr","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Connor Kerr"},"description":"Connor Kerr writes MiGFlug\u2019s long-form features \u2014 aviation history, how-it-works explainers and the stories behind the headlines.","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/author\/connorkerr\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13266091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13266091"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13266091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13266382,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13266091\/revisions\/13266382"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13265825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13266091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13266091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13266091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}