Pentagon Confirms (for 1st time) the use of Laser Weapons in Field

For the first time in history, the U.S. military has confirmed the use of a directed energy laser system, which took out three suspected cartel drones. And that was soon followed up by a separate announcement from the Department of War, announcing the official recipient of a half-billion-dollar contract for the Army's first-ever directed energy program of record, a contract that signals the start of the next evolution in modern warfare, laser warfare. War is changing. Threats no longer arrive with warning. They arrive in numbers. Fast, coordinated, and persistent. Operators need a scalable defense strategy. Introducing Locust X3, a modular, laser-directed energy weapon system designed for fixed-site, maritime, and mobile deployment. Locust X3 delivers protection wherever forces operate. Open and configurable, Locust X3 adapts as threats evolve. defeating groups 1 to 3 UAS with rapid, precise response. Utilizing Advanced Precision EOIR tracking and automated targeting, Locust X3 continuously searches, pursues, and prioritizes threats across complex air defense environments. A V-Halo pinpoint precision fire control keeps energy locked on target in real time. Multi-target tracking enables rapid engagement reducing overhead, allowing operators to manage dense threat systems without added complexity or training burden. High-energy laser engagement delivers precise measured response, no reloads, no excess force, neutralizing threats at the speed of light. Locust X3. What you just saw was the promotional video for the Locust X3 laser weapon system created by a company called AeroVironment, which is in my opinion a great name for a company like that. And it's believed to be the system that shot down those three cartel drones in late August, and then it's also the company that got that fat half billion dollar contract from the US military. The Locust X3 is a third generation directed energy laser weapon system designed to defeat both current as well as emerging aerial threats, including group one, two, and three unmanned aircraft system. And without getting into the weeds of that classification system, it's basically the way that the US military groups drones based on their size, their operating altitude, as well as their maximum airspeed. And the Locust X3 can target all three of those groups. But maybe the most important feature of Locust X3 is its economic benefits. Because the conflicts in both Ukraine as well as Iran, they've demonstrated to the whole world how cheap drones can cause huge amounts of lethal damage. And so a cheaper and more sustainable defense system is obviously needed. And so, in terms of directed energy laser weapon systems. They're relatively cheap. They're extremely precise, and they don't have any munitions that you could run out of. Now, the U.S. military was already employing some of these Locust X3s in the field, and they apparently have proved to be solid weapons. For instance, as I alluded to a moment ago, in the early morning hours of August 26th, in the vicinity of the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, drones believed to have been controlled by the cartels, they were spotted, and they were quickly eliminated. Quote, cartel networks are increasingly employing unmanned aircraft systems to facilitate illicit human smuggling and actively spy on our personnel and law enforcement partners. By integrating laser countermeasures alongside their advanced directed energy capabilities, like this laser system, we have made it clear that we will not tolerate hostile surveillance. All right, just to pause here for a super quick moment. If you've watched our program, Facts Matter, then you know that we focus on one thing, which is the facts, not speculation, not narratives, just what the data shows. 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They can deliver your gold and your silver directly to your doorstep, or that can help you set up a gold IRA if you're trying to diversify your retirement. And right now, when you call and mention my name, Roman, you can get up to $20,000 in free silver with your first qualifying purchase. So give them a call 866-242-2352, or just text Roman to 65532. That's again, 866-242-2352, or text Roman to 65532. I'll also throw all their details. You'll be able to find them down in the description box below. And it's fair to assume that the lasers impressed the top brass because exactly one week later, the U.S. Army finalized their multi-year contract with AeroVironment for a cool $465 million. That contract will see AeroVironment deliver dozens of these Locust X3 laser systems to U.S. forces worldwide. Here was their CEO, Mr. Wahid Nawabi, on the significance of this contract. Quote, This award marks a defining moment, not only for AeroVironment, but for the future of modern defense. The transition of directed energy from experimentation to an enduring fielded capability reflects years of collaboration, innovation, and operational success alongside the U.S. Army. We're proud to deliver these production systems and support the Army's mission with scalable, modular, and cost-effective defensive solutions. The day after this award was announced, AeroVironment published an article over on their website explaining how the laser weaponry that they're rolling out will change the economics of air defense. Here's what they wrote, quote, in an era of mass autonomous threats and constrained interceptor inventories, victory will not simply go to the side with the most sophisticated individual weapon. It will increasingly depend on which side can generate and sustain combat power longer. And as evidence of their cost savings, the article referenced a previous test that was conducted back in April on board the carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush. And for that, AeroVironment rolled out a version of its Locust system on a pallet. And in less than an hour, you had the sailors, who'd never used that system before, shoot down 100% of the targets in a live-fire exercise against dozens of aerial threats. Now, within that example, there are two big takeaways. Firstly is the ease of use, which is very important. In fact, Eric, the researcher, who was formerly a platoon leader in the U.S. Army, wrote the following side note when we were doing research for today's episode. Quote, The ability for service members to use a new piece of technology like this so quickly is a testament to AeroVironment, who realizes that if the troops can't easily use it, they won't. The system uses an Xbox controller that pretty much every service member is at least somewhat familiar with. The cost savings from having a simple-to-teach program is mildly noteworthy when considering the economics of laser systems. But secondly, the, I guess you could say, real cost savings that AeroVironment was alluding to in their article had to do with the munitions. Those drone targets that the lasers eliminated would have normally required the ship to expend dozens of interceptor missiles at roughly $40,000 a pop. Instead, though, the cost of firing the Locust X3 laser is measured in energy expenditure, basically just the cost of electricity, which on a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier essentially means an endless supply of cheap ammunition. Quote, A Patriot missile battery costs about a billion dollars to procure one system. Each missile costs about $4 million a shot. For the laser, the cost per shot goes from $4 million a shot to less than $5 a shot, in most cases, about $3 a shot. Now, those types of savings are obviously insane, and as a U.S. taxpaying citizen, I greatly appreciate them, but they only make sense if the new weapon system that costs whatever, $5 a shot, is as good as what it's replacing at $40,000 to $4 million a shot, which gets into the heart of how this laser system actually works. Now, interestingly, unlike in the movies where laser beams are visible and seemingly shoot out in a perfectly straight line that seems to go on forever, the laser beams that come out of the Locust X3, they're actually invisible to the human eye, and they're not straight. They're hourglass shape. The center of the hourglass is called the focus point, and the focus point is set to a specific control distance to basically be able to concentrate the energy only on that target. Beyond that focus point, the beam naturally spreads out, reducing the intensity by an order of magnitude just a few hundred yards beyond the focus point. This is, among other things, a safety issue because if a laser beam just continued on forever, it might hit some commercial airplane by accident. AeroVironment also claims to have other safety features to prevent that possibility as well, all of which collectively were enough to convince the FAA back in April to give them the stamp of approval. The FAA said that the Locust system poses no undue risk to commercial passenger aircraft, meaning it can be used domestically. But I know what you're wondering. It's great for the military to have these new laser weapons, but when will we have laser weapons? And to that effect, as with any new piece of technology, there is the old engineering adage that's at play. First you make it work, then you make it small. And as it currently stands, most of the directed energy weapon systems that are under development, are designed to be mounted on either aircraft, vessels, stationary platforms, or mounted on the back of vehicles. They all appear to be big and bulky. We're probably still quite a few years off from having portable laser systems like the gun blasters in Star Wars. Those would require specialized batteries, thermal management systems, sensors, optics, tracking equipment, software, as well as power control electronics, all of which must fit into a system that's small enough to be able to have a soldier carry it for extended periods of time. Basically, it would be a giant feat of engineering. But the reason that I say that it's years away rather than decades away is because there are some signs that the technology is quickly moving in that direction. For example, in 2023, Northrop Grumman delivered a 10 kilowatt class laser called the Phantom to the U.S. government. And the company emphasized miniaturization for tactical field use against enemy drones, rockets, and missiles in this prototype. The Phantom weighed less than 200 pounds, and it could be lifted, carried, and installed by as few as two people. However, for one, that system appears to only be a prototype that was tested by the military, who, as far as I can tell, has not offered any production contracts for that product, at least according to publicly available contracts. And secondly, it was still 200 pounds and required two people to carry, lift, set, and set up, so it wasn't exactly portable. Unfortunately, though, the best example that I could find of a portable laser system comes out of the People's Republic of China. At a Chinese defense exhibit in June of this year, the company called Harbin Xinguang Optic Electronics Technology, they displayed two backpack-sized counter drone lasers. They were called the Li-Duan 2 and the Li-Duan 3. And Li-Duan in Chinese translates to sharp swords. And the company claims that these two different systems, they represent a leap forward in the effort to miniaturize directed energy weapon systems. For instance, the Li-Duan 3 weighed only 55 pounds, and it included a laser emitter, an air cooler, as well as a handheld control terminal. The whole thing was actually carryable by either two soldiers or by one really strong soldier. The system reportedly uses a two-kilowatt laser capable of burning through a drone in four seconds at a distance of 500 meters, which is 1,600 feet, and it allegedly required only five seconds to cool between shots. At the exhibit, the price of one unit was stated to be a shade under $300,000. However, I will just throw in a giant caveat here. All of the specs and capabilities that I just listed for those Chinese sword miniature lasers come from the materials that the manufacturer was presenting at the exhibit, as well as a company representative who's there. These Chinese laser beams have very much not been independently tested. And so take that with a grain of salt. I did just want to show you what China's Legion laser was capable, well, was set to be capable of, because it shows how quickly these advanced pieces of tech are in terms of getting smaller and lighter and easier to deploy, at least in theory. And in closing, I'll say that nothing that we found in the research for today's episode indicates that anybody is currently seriously working on a laser-based anti-personnel rifle, meaning to shoot at actual humans, at least not in the declassified setting. Now, maybe the boys over at DARPA already have working prototypes, but we'll never know. However, what is clear is that the lasers that are being made and developed right now publicly are being described as anti-drone defensive weapons. But if you just logically think it through, it stands to reason that recalibrating a laser that can already burn a hole through a drone, it wouldn't be that hard to just adjust it in order to target human beings. And so, I don't know what to say. Rest assured, the era of mass-produced laser weaponry will soon be upon us, and it'll be then that we can all revel in the realization of a long-awaited dream, the dream that, for the last 100 years, kids have waited for to use laser weapons, which might be, you know, the actualization of that dream might not exactly be as great as it sounds in science fiction. anyway if you want to check out the research links for today's episode i'll throw them all down into the description box below which is that same description box right below those like and subscribe buttons both of which i hope you smash and then until next time i'm your host roman from the Epoch Times stay informed and most importantly stay free