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Drones: Industry & Defence
13APR

Microwave and Laser Weapons Reach the Field

2 min read
13:26UTC

Three directed-energy counter-drone systems from three companies entered the field or demonstration in a single month.

← Back to Gulf drone war rewrites procurementJump to analysis ↓
TechnologyDeveloping
Key takeaway

Energy-based counter-drone systems reached combat and demonstration readiness simultaneously in March 2026.

Epirus revealed the Leonidas AGV at the AUSA Global Force conference in March 2026. The autonomous ground vehicle integrates high-power microwave (HPM) defeat, with General Dynamics as platform integrator and Kodiak Robotics providing autonomous driving capability. 1

Separately, the US Navy confirmed that ODIN, its shipboard laser weapon, saw combat deployment aboard a destroyer during Operation EPIC FURY. 2 ODIN's deployment makes it the first confirmed naval laser used in active combat operations. Combined with AeroVironment's LOCUST X3 unveil the same week, three distinct directed-energy counter-drone systems reached the field or demonstration readiness in a single month.

Iran's campaign has launched 4,446 drones since 28 February, overwhelming missile-based defences that cost 80 to 200 times more per intercept . The Army's E-HEL (Enduring High Energy Laser) competition, expected to select a winner in Q2 FY26, will determine which directed-energy approach (laser, microwave, or hybrid) the military considers production-ready. The theoretical debate about energy weapons replacing missiles for counter-drone duty is over. Procurement decisions are next.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

Most countries defend against drone attacks by firing missiles. It is expensive and uses up missiles that might be needed for bigger threats. Directed energy weapons, whether lasers or microwave devices, work differently. They fire pulses of energy that fry the drone's electronics or burn through its airframe. They cost almost nothing per shot and never run out of ammunition. In March 2026, three different versions of this technology reached the battlefield in the same month. That is unusual. It suggests the US military is accepting the technology is ready, not just promising.

Deep Analysis
Root Causes

Iran's campaign created an emergency demand signal that no single vendor could satisfy immediately. The simultaneous appearance of HPM, laser, and naval variants reflects parallel development tracks funded under different programme lines rather than coordinated procurement, which is typical of US defence innovation under budget uncertainty.

ODIN's naval deployment alongside land-based demonstrations suggests the Navy and Army are running separate directed-energy programmes with limited cross-service coordination, which historically leads to duplicate investment before a common standard emerges.

What could happen next?

  • The Army E-HEL competition will have real-world performance data from three concurrent deployments, enabling a more informed downselect in Q2 FY26.

  • Simultaneous fielding of non-interoperable directed-energy systems risks creating a support and logistics burden that limits their operational utility unless a common architecture is mandated.

Sources:UK Defence Journal
Mentions:Moscow →Epirus →Leonidas AGV →General Dynamics →Kodiak Robotics →ODIN →US Navy →Iran →Israel →Prima →AeroVironment →LOCUST X3 →RUSI →Russia →E-HEL →Operation Roaring Lion / Epic Fury →Center for Strategic and International Studies →STING →
First Reported In

Update #4 · Factories Under Fire: America's Drone Gap Meets Reality

UK Defence Journal· 4 Apr 2026
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Causes and effects
This Event
Microwave and Laser Weapons Reach the Field
Simultaneous fielding of laser and microwave counter-drone systems signals the structural shift from missile-based intercept to energy-based defeat is now operational.
Led to
EHEL laser contest slips to Q4 FY26
ODIN combat deployment (ID:1966) established directed-energy counter-drone precedent; EHEL competition is the Army's procurement response, now delayed to Q4 FY26.
Occurred 10 Apr 2026
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Different Perspectives
South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration
South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration
DAPA folded drone and roadside-bomb jammers into an 18-year, KRW 3.448 trillion K2 tank upgrade approved 11 August, rather than fund counter-drone kit as its own programme. Seoul is treating the threat as permanent enough to write into a platform's lifecycle, not urgent enough to buy ahead of it.
NATO Support and Procurement Agency
NATO Support and Procurement Agency
NSPA named five pre-qualified counter-drone suppliers under new framework contracts on 27 July, giving allies a purchasing route with no published budget attached. A framework without committed money is an instrument waiting for a spending decision, not a guarantee one is coming.
Ukraine's Ministry of Defence
Ukraine's Ministry of Defence
Ukraine's forces strike with more than 70 AI and computer-vision systems drawn from over 200 domestic producers, the ministry said on 18 August, a supplier base neither Washington's tariff fight nor Beijing's export licence touches. Kyiv is scaling capability faster than either government is writing rules for it.
A European drone-component manufacturer
A European drone-component manufacturer
A European manufacturer selling components into the United States faces the same 100 per cent tariff and 3 September deadline as any other foreign supplier, with the duty-free onshoring carve-out available only to firms building on American soil. That leaves it to absorb the cost, relocate assembly, or cede the US market rather than shop around a rival supply chain.
Chinese drone component exporters
Chinese drone component exporters
Exporters now need a case-by-case licence for each US-bound dual-use shipment after MOFCOM's 5 August order, with no published review clock. The same week Shenzhen logged nearly 200,000 domestic logistics-drone sorties and Hunan reported record spraying coverage, a home market large enough to absorb what the licence regime slows from leaving the country.
US drone manufacturers
US drone manufacturers
The onshoring carve-out protects Performance Drone Works' $820 million War Department loan, but the same 3 September deadline hits Red Cat Holdings and Unusual Machines, both filing over 500 per cent revenue growth on 6 August, on Chinese-sourced components with no qualified domestic substitute yet.