Lasers and Directed Energy

President Donald Trump called for the best cutting-edge missile defense weapons and systems at the Pentagon on Thursday.

The Pentagon has just a few years to decide whether it wants to invest heavily in the new technology.

The U.S. Army is closer to mounting lasers on vehicles for protection against enemy rocket, artillery and mortar fire.

The U.S. charged that China aimed laser beams at U.S. pilots in Djibouti.

Sen. Martin Heinrich said at the current pace of testing, a laser weapon for the AC-130 would not be operational until 2030.

If one service has made sufficient progress to use laser weapons in its arsenal in the next few years, it's the U.S. Navy.

The funny-looking vehicle promises to give maneuver formations defense against drones.

The nation needs directed-energy weapons to take out enemy missiles on launch, the head of StratCom says.

It's a "watershed moment" in the Navy's decades-long effort to develop laser weapons for surface warships.