US Awards Laser Weapon Deals for Drone, Missile Defense
The deals support 150-kilowatt prototypes and a 500-kilowatt system as the Pentagon seeks lower-cost defenses against drones and cruise missiles.
- On Thursday, the Defense Department awarded $86 million in agreements to nLIGHT Defense and Lockheed Martin Aculight to develop production-ready Joint Laser Weapon Systems for countering adversary drone swarms and cruise missiles.
- These awards leverage Other Transaction Authority frameworks to circumvent "traditional, prolonged acquisition pathways," supporting a broader Pentagon strategy to field directed-energy weapons at scale within an $847 million program ceiling.
- Initial Joint Laser Weapon System prototypes will provide approximately 150 kilowatts of power to address "urgent operational demands," with subsequent iterations scaled to reach the 300 to 500 kilowatt threshold required for robust cruise missile defense.
- Pentagon CTO Emil Michael stated the military needs weapons that are "affordable, scalable, and ready for production," with the initial $44 million award potentially expanding to $627 million for follow-on development.
- The department plans to integrate directed-energy weapons with kinetic tools as part of a "multi-tiered defense framework that provides flexible options to the warfighter," utilizing containerized systems for rapid deployment across geographic combatant commands.
13 Articles
13 Articles
US awards laser weapon deals for drone, missile defense
The US Department of War announced on July 9, 2026, that two Joint Laser Weapon System (JLWS) agreements had been awarded to nLIGHT Defense and Lockheed Martin Aculight, aimed at turning high-energy laser prototypes into field-ready systems against drones and cruise missiles. The Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements carry an initial value of $86 million and a total program ceiling of $847 million. They were executed by the Scaled Direct…
Pentagon launches $627M laser weapon program to tackle cruise missiles
The U.S. Department of Defense has selected laser technology company nLIGHT to help develop a new generation of high-energy laser weapons built to counter cruise missiles and large-scale drone attacks. The agreement starts with a $44 million award and could reach $627 million if follow-on development and future production work move ahead. The work supports the Joint Laser Weapon System (JLWS) program, an effort to move directed energy from exper…
Pentagon awards deals for laser weapons that could shoot down drone swarms
The Defense Department has awarded other transaction agreements to nLIGHT Defense and Lockheed Martin Aculight for directed energy weapons as the military seeks new tools for zapping adversary drone swarms and cruise missiles, the Pentagon announced Thursday. The deals, valued at $86 million, will support the Joint Laser Weapon System program, spearheaded by the Pentagon’s Research and Engineering directorate. Defense officials have long-touted …
DOD uses rapid acquisition to field production-ready laser weapons
The Defense Department is using rapid contracting vehicles to speed up the process of getting directed-energy weapon capabilities into the hands of warfighters, awarding two Joint Laser Weapon Systems agreements worth $86 million to nLIGHT Defense and Lockheed Martin Aculight to develop production-ready platforms that can be rapidly fielded. With the JWLS systems, the Pentagon is hoping to expand its portfolio of missile and drone defense capabi…
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