Laser Air Defenses Will Be Operational Before Decade’s End, Lockheed Exec Says

Laser air defenses will be operational before decade’s end, Lockheed exec says

In a nod to a common refrain that laser systems are always just five years away, Lockheed Martin’s Stephanie Hill said, “Not anymore.”

Lockheed Martin CEO says its laser weapon passed first Golden Dome missile-defense test, leading to new Pentagon contract weeks later

Taiclet said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had highlighted the test result. The laser weapon detected and destroyed a full range of simulated incoming threats during the milestone event. The follow-on contract covers a containerized 500-kilowatt laser. Taiclet called it the most powerful laser ever built into a transportable unit. The system is meant to counter cruise missiles and drones, threats that have grown more common on modern battlefiel…