{"id":24793,"date":"2018-02-28T17:16:20","date_gmt":"2018-02-28T17:16:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/02\/28\/soldiers-in-europe-are-now-using-lasers-to-shoot-down-drones\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:22:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:22:03","slug":"soldiers-in-europe-are-now-using-lasers-to-shoot-down-drones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2018\/02\/28\/soldiers-in-europe-are-now-using-lasers-to-shoot-down-drones\/","title":{"rendered":"Soldiers in Europe are now using lasers to shoot down drones"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For decades, the Defense Department has put money and manpower behind getting directed energy \u2014 or laser<\/a> \u2014 weapons in the hands of soldiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And now, Army soldiers are using one of the first practical laser weapons <\/a>in Europe, a civilian director of the Army\u2019s Space and Missile Defense Command <\/a>Future Warfare Center said Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richard DeFatta told an audience of more than 100 at the Association of the U.S. Army\u2019s one-day conference on air and missile defense that while researchers are working on a powerful 100-kilowatt laser, smaller, more scientifically manageable projects have already been fielded.<\/p>\n\n\n\t