US Awards Laser Weapon Deals for Drone, Missile Defense
The deals support 150-kilowatt prototypes and a 500-kilowatt system as the Pentagon seeks lower-cost defenses against drones and cruise missiles.
- On Thursday, the Defense Department awarded $86 million in agreements to nLIGHT Defense and Lockheed Martin Aculight to develop production-ready Joint Laser Weapon Systems for countering adversary drone swarms and cruise missiles.
- These awards leverage Other Transaction Authority frameworks to circumvent "traditional, prolonged acquisition pathways," supporting a broader Pentagon strategy to field directed-energy weapons at scale within an $847 million program ceiling.
- Initial Joint Laser Weapon System prototypes will provide approximately 150 kilowatts of power to address "urgent operational demands," with subsequent iterations scaled to reach the 300 to 500 kilowatt threshold required for robust cruise missile defense.
- Pentagon CTO Emil Michael stated the military needs weapons that are "affordable, scalable, and ready for production," with the initial $44 million award potentially expanding to $627 million for follow-on development.
- The department plans to integrate directed-energy weapons with kinetic tools as part of a "multi-tiered defense framework that provides flexible options to the warfighter," utilizing containerized systems for rapid deployment across geographic combatant commands.
19 Articles
19 Articles
The Pentagon is spending big on lasers to shoot down hostile drones and cruise missiles
Defense officials believe laser and other directed energy weapons could be sustainable answers to drones.US Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Iyer RamakrishnaDoD announced big awards for the development of new laser weapons.Projects involving lasers and other directed-energy weapons are seen as low-cost defense options.With these weapons, there have long been concerns about the technical hurdles and power generation.The Department of Defense is investi…
Lockheed Martin wins deal for powerful laser weapon
Lockheed Martin has been tapped by the U.S. Department of War to build the most powerful laser weapon ever packed into a shipping container, a 500-kilowatt system designed to knock cruise missiles and drone swarms out of the sky before they reach American forces or the homeland. The Bethesda, Maryland-based defense giant announced the award […]
Pentagon picks Lockheed, nLIGHT for laser defense project
PARIS — An arm of US Aerospace giant Lockheed Martin and specialist firm nLIGHT Defense have been selected to lead development of high-energy lasers the US military expects can defend against drones and eventually cruise missiles, the Pentagon announced. In a press release on Thursday, the Defense Department said that the two companies’ contracts for...
U.S. Department of Defense accelerates tactical transition with historic agreement to develop targeted energy systems
US awards laser weapon deals for drone, missile defense
The US Department of War announced on July 9, 2026, that two Joint Laser Weapon System (JLWS) agreements had been awarded to nLIGHT Defense and Lockheed Martin Aculight, aimed at turning high-energy laser prototypes into field-ready systems against drones and cruise missiles. The Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements carry an initial value of $86 million and a total program ceiling of $847 million. They were executed by the Scaled Direct…
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