Laser Wars: Pulse

Pulse #017: An Empty Warning on China’s Space Lasers

Jared Keller — Sun, 01 Nov 2026 14:31:04 GMT

An artist’s rendering of a space-based laser weapon. (US Defense Intelligence Agency)

Welcome to Pulse, a regular digest of updates from around the directed energy ecosystem. In this edition: the US Defense Intelligence Agency’s odd assessment of China’s space laser ambitions, the US Army searches for a platform for the Joint Laser Weapon System, the Pentagon is designing its next domestic military base with directed energy in mind, and more.

Pulse #016: The US Military’s Notorious ‘Heat Ray’ Is Headed for the Border

Jared Keller — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 13:31:20 GMT

An Active Denial System from the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate is staged before conducting a counter personnel demo during Weapons and Tactics Instructor course (WTI) 2-17 at Site 50, Wellton, Arizona on April 4, 2017. (US Marine Corps photo)

Welcome to Pulse, a regular digest of updates from around the directed energy ecosystem. In this week’s edition: the US military’s dreaded Active Denial System finally gets a mission, the Defense Innovation Unit eyes laser-armed drone boats, US Air Combat Command seeks drone defense-as-a-service, and more.

Pulse #015: The Army Keeps Lasing Along

Jared Keller — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 13:31:00 GMT

AV’s LOCUST X3 laser weapon system. (Colin Demarest)

Welcome to Pulse, a regular digest of updates from around the directed energy ecosystem. In this week’s edition: three laser weapon threads out of the Association of the US Army’s annual exposition in Washington DC, which I was unfortunately unable to attend in person this year.

Many thanks to Axios’s Colin Demarest and DefenseScoop’s Drew Lawrence for being my eyes and ears on the show floor, and to all the wonderful Laser Wars readers who wrote in with observations and tips from the show. The AUSA Warriors Corner panel on directed energy referenced throughout this edition can be viewed in full on (or downloaded from) DVIDS here.

Pulse #014: The Anatomy of Laser Weapon Misinformation

Jared Keller — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 13:31:18 GMT

The US Navy amphibious ship USS Portland shoots down a drone during at-sea testing of the Solid State Laser - Technology Maturation Laser Weapons System Demonstrator (LWSD) Mark 2 MOD 0 near Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, on May 16, 2020. (US Navy photo)

Welcome to Pulse, a regular digest of updates from around the directed energy ecosystem. In this week’s edition: a note on a recent New York Post article on US military laser weapons, NATO’s biggest directed energy challenge, a trio of new laser weapons break cover, and more.

No, American Laser Weapons Aren’t Downing Iranian Missiles in the Strait of Hormuz

I am quoted in a September 24 article in the New York Post discussing the development and deployment of US military laser weapons. In the course of my interview, I noted several facts:

Several Optical Dazzling Interdictor, Navy (ODIN) systems are present aboard warships deployed to the Middle East in support of the US military campaigns against Iran, although there is no confirmation that those systems have been fired in anger (the Navy declined to comment when reached by Laser Wars.)
Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Emil Michael had recently stated that US military laser weapons are “in the fight” in the Middle East, although he declined to provide details as to which systems he was referring to
AV’s LOCUST Laser Weapon System, selected for the US Army’s historic $500 million Enduring High Energy Laser (E-HEL) program and currently in action on the US southern border with Mexico as the service’s Army Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser (AMP-HEL) system, can be operated with an Xbox controller

The resulting article, however, does not say this. Instead, it conflates these three facts, stating that the US military is currently using laser weapons to shoot down missiles in the Strait of Hormuz using Xbox controllers, which is nowhere near accurate.

The most egregious error stems from the assertion that the US Defense Department had confirmed lasers are taking out “drones and incoming cruise missiles at a much lower cost than using more expensive kinetic weapons like missiles” in the Middle East. Not only has the Pentagon never explicitly confirmed this, but the supporting quote comes from an entirely unrelated Army release about AMP-HEL’s deployment to the southern border and laser weapons’ potential capabilities. (Spencer Ackerman has a great takedown of the entire article at Forever Wars.)

Unfortunately, as Jonathan Swift wrote, “falsehood flies, and the truth comes limping after it.” Given that so much of digital media is a game of aggregation telephone, where outlets rewrite and repackage original reporting into morsels of delicious content for their attention-addled audiences, it makes complete sense that the logical result of the New York Post’s slapdash reporting is headlines like these:

Ugh.

I have learned a lot in the last few years of writing Laser Wars, but my favorite bit of directed energy jargon is the term “laser liar” — a (usually) well-meaning journalist who, blinded by lasers’ enduring cultural status as symbol of our sci-fi future, does a terrible job articulating the real-world potential and challenges facing directed energy weapons. After watching my careful reporting get scrambled into hot garbage over the last week, I now have a visceral picture of what that means. (And after 15 years working in digital media, I should have expected as much.)

That said, the best antidote to a laser liar isn’t frustration or cynicism – it’s documentation. Every claim I made in that interview is backed up by real-world evidence: DVIDS photos of ODIN systems aboard Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, public comments from Emil Michael at a defense forum captured by a journalist, and open-source reporting on the US military’s long love affairs with video game controllers. Directed energy weapons are coming to the battlefield, and that story is remarkable enough without embellishment.

The reason Laser Wars exists is to tell it straight, one confirmed fact at a time. The truth may come limping, but it does arrive eventually — and when it does, you’ll read it here.

Pulse #013: Laser Weapons to Watch Over US Space Launches

Jared Keller — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 16:20:45 GMT

A Falcon 9 rocket successfully launches from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on Sept. 13, 2026. (US Space Force/Gwendolyn Kurzen)

Welcome to Pulse, a regular digest of updates from around the directed energy ecosystem. In this week’s edition: the Space Force eyes laser weapons to counter drone threats at launch sites, the Pentagon considers directed energy’s power bottleneck, the Netherlands and Australia’s EOS team up, and more.

Pulse #012: America’s Laser Dome Rises on the Border

Jared Keller — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 13:30:43 GMT

An Army Multi-Purpose High-Energy Laser (AMP-HEL) system stands guard on the US-Mexico border in late August. (US Defense Department photo)

Welcome to Pulse, a regular digest of updates from around the directed energy ecosystem. In this edition: the Army releases footage of laser weapons operating at the US-Mexico border, a video supercut of Trump praising laser weapons, a Pentagon fix for a looming laser weapon supply chain problem, and more.

Pulse #011: US Military Laser Weapons Are ‘in the Fight’ in the Middle East

Jared Keller — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 15:45:45 GMT

A Compact Laser Weapon System (CLAWS) during testing in the US Central Command area of operations. (Boeing)

Welcome to Pulse, a regular digest of updates from around the directed energy ecosystem. In this edition: US military laser weapons are apparently watching over American troops in the Middle East, the Pentagon’s Joint Laser Weapon System gets a target fielding date, a mystery international customer for AV’s LOCUST, and more.

Pulse #010: Hot Laser Summer (And What Comes Next)

Jared Keller — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 13:31:11 GMT

The US Army’s Enduring High Energy Laser (E-HEL) weapon system. (US Army photo)

Welcome to Pulse, a regular digest of updates from around the directed energy ecosystem. In this week’s edition: a peek at the Pentagon’s new directed energy roadmap, the coming season of Navy laser content, a new Russian laser weapon breaks cover, and more.

Pulse #009: Teamwork Makes the Beam Work

Jared Keller — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 13:16:12 GMT

Japan’s 10 kilowatt “Vehicle-Mounted High-Power Laser Demonstration Device.” in an undated photo. (Japanese Ministry of Defense)

Welcome to Pulse, a regular digest of updates from around the directed energy ecosystem. In this week’s edition: Australia and Japan form a laser alliance, the Pentagon lays out a fast lane for directed energy weapons, a peek at Germany’s ‘laserdome,’ and more.

Pulse #008: A Secretive Pentagon Laser Weapon Test

Jared Keller — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 13:30:45 GMT

US Army soldiers conduct night fire training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, South Carolina April 24, 2026. (US Army National Guard photo)

Welcome to Pulse, a regular digest of updates from around the directed energy ecosystem. In this week’s edition: the US military’s secretive laser weapon test, the remaining challenges to fielding directed energy weapon at scale, American space lasers, and more.

Pulse #007: Israel's Iron Beam Hits a Wall

Jared Keller — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 13:31:10 GMT

Israel’s Iron Beam laser weapon. (Israel Defense Ministry)

Welcome to Pulse, a regular digest of updates from around the directed energy ecosystem. In this week’s edition: Israel’s Iron Beam still isn’t operational, directed energy weapons will watch over US nuclear convoys, a laser weapon supply chain warning, and more.

Pulse #006: The Air Force Deploys Laser Weapons Overseas

Jared Keller — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 13:30:20 GMT

Boeing’s Compact Laser Weapon System (CLaWS) during testing in 2024. (Boeing)

Welcome to Pulse, a regular digest of updates from around the directed energy ecosystem. Apologies for the gap in editions — I have been traveling for the last few weeks. Feel free to send feedback using the button below:

In this week’s edition: the US Air Force sends laser weapons abroad to counter drone threats, Ukraine’s laser weapons inch toward combat, two small steps forward for the global laser weapon industrial base, and more.

Pulse #005: Here Comes Israel's Space Laser

Jared Keller — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 13:31:15 GMT

The sodium laser guide star projects into the night sky from the Advanced Electro-Optical System telescope, a 3.6-meter telescope, at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex atop Haleakalā, Hawaii on June 9, 2026. (US Space Force photo)

Welcome to Pulse, a regular digest of updates from around the directed energy ecosystem. In this week’s edition: Israel’s spaceborne laser ambitions, the UK ramps up directed energy funding, the Netherlands takes a two-track approach to laser weapons, and more.

Pulse #004: Notes on Pete Hegseth's Laser Show

Jared Keller — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 13:31:19 GMT

(Laser Wars photo illustration/US Defense Department photo)

Welcome to Pulse, a regular digest of updates from around the directed energy ecosystem. In this week’s edition: extra details from the Laser Wars exclusive on the US military’s latest directed energy demonstration, the UK wants to shrink DragonFire, China’s debuts a man-portable laser weapon, and more.

Pulse #003: The Return of the CLaWS

Jared Keller — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 15:25:38 GMT

The Compact Laser Weapon System (CLaWS) in an undated photo. (Boeing)

Welcome to Pulse:, a regular digest of updates from around the directed energy ecosystem. In this week’s edition: the Navy teaches an old laser weapon a new trick, Australia’s EOS signs a laser weapon contract with the UAE, fresh details on Elbit’s airborne laser efforts, and more.

Pulse #002: The Lasercopter Cometh

Jared Keller — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 13:21:03 GMT

An Elbit Systems rendering of a helicopter-mounted ‘Sting’ high-energy laser weapon engaging a target. (Elbit Systems)

Editor’s note: There is officially more laser weapon news than I have time to devote individual newsletters to! To ensure Laser Wars readers remain up to date, I’m launching Pulse, a regular digest of updates from around the directed energy ecosystem.

In this week’s edition: Israel’s laser-armed helicopter is closer than you think, Turkey’s chief laser weapon gets a starring role in the Steel Dome, new laser weapons break cover at the 2026 ILA Berlin Air Show, and more.

Pulse #001: The Pentagon Is Still Dreaming of Space-Based Laser Weapons

Jared Keller — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 13:31:45 GMT

A 1985 artist's concept of a space-based laser satellite defense system. (US National Archives and Records Administration)

In this week’s edition: The US Defense Department’s dream of ‘Star Wars’-style space lasers lives on, South Korea announces a major laser weapon breakthrough, the Pentagon assesses a 'laser shield,’ and more.