Laser Wars | Jared Keller | Substack

America's 'Laser Dome' Starts Here

The US military is laying the foundation for deploying high-energy laser weapons for domestic air defense.

22 hrs ago • Jared Keller

Here’s the Status of Every Known US Military Laser Weapon

This is the current state of play for US military laser weapons.

Mar 28 • Jared Keller

The Pentagon’s FY2027 Budget Bet on Directed Energy Weapons

The US Defense Department's fiscal year 2027 budget request could yield more than $2 billion in directed energy RDT&E funding.

Apr 8 • Jared Keller

The Case for Building a 'Laser Dome' Over Washington DC

Apr 2 • Jared Keller

The Navy Brought a ‘One-of-a-Kind’ Laser Weapon Back From the Dead

The US Navy's lone 150 kilowatt laser weapon is back in action – sort of.

Mar 30 • Jared Keller

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Latest Articles

The Xboxification of Laser Weapons

High-energy laser weapons and video game-style controllers are a match made in heaven – for now.

Mar 25 • Jared Keller

The Army Is Already Ditching Its Most Powerful Laser Weapon Yet

The US Army’s 300 kilowatt Indirect Fire Protection Capability-High Energy Laser (IFPC-HEL) system won't transition to a program of record.

Mar 23 • Jared Keller

Here Comes the Lasercopter

The Israeli military wants to slap a high-energy laser weapon on an attack helicopter.

Mar 19 • Jared Keller

The Pentagon Wants to Field Laser Weapons at Scale Within 3 Years

Amid waves of Iranian drone attacks, the US Defense Department is pushing to finally field high-energy laser weapons in the next 36 months.

Mar 16 • Jared Keller

The Air Force Is Revisiting Laser Weapons for Base Defense

The US Air Force is reconsidering high-energy laser weapons for airbase defense at home and abroad after abandoning earlier efforts.

Mar 9 • Jared Keller

The Laser Weapon Quietly Watching Over the US Strikes on Iran

The US Navy's Optical Dazzling Interdictor, Navy (ODIN) laser weapon is bearing witness to Operation Epic Fury.

Mar 5 • Jared Keller

The US Military’s First Confirmed Laser Kill

A case of laser weapon friendly fire at the US-Mexico border reveals a dangerous coordination gap in the US government’s domestic counter-drone…

Mar 2 • Jared Keller

The Myth of the ‘Infinite Magazine’

High-energy laser weapon advocates claim that such systems possess an "infinite magazine." Here's why this framing is operationally misleading.

Feb 23 • Jared Keller

'Sunray’: What We Know (And Don’t Know) About Ukraine’s New Laser Weapon

A new dispatch from The Atlantic offers a vivid look at the system in action, though key technical details remain unclear.

Feb 16 • Jared Keller

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