The Pentagon’s Directed Energy Leaders on the Rise of America’s Laser Arsenal

An interview with Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies Michael Dodd and Senior Official for Scaled Directed Energy Dr. Chris Vergien on the future of US military laser weapons.

US Army soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, assigned to Joint Task Force-Southern Border (JTF-SB) in support of Operation Ardent Vanguard, operate an Army Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser (AMP-HEL) system mounted on an Infantry Squad Vehicle during a training exercise near Fort Hancock, Texas on November 2, 2026. (US Defense Department/Sgt. Michael Graf)

Welcome to In Focus, an occasional interview series with subject matter experts in the directed energy space.

Hon. Michael Dodd is the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies at the US Defense Department. Dr. Chris Vergien has served as the senior official for Scaled Directed Energy, one of the department’s critical technology areas, since August 2025.

Laser Wars spoke with Dodd and Vergien via video call on November 2, 2026. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.