{"id":34139,"date":"2024-03-22T15:14:09","date_gmt":"2024-03-22T15:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2024\/03\/22\/us-testing-stryker-mounted-lasers-in-iraq-amid-middle-east-drone-boom\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:58:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:58:05","slug":"us-testing-stryker-mounted-lasers-in-iraq-amid-middle-east-drone-boom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/battlefield-tech\/directed-energy\/2024\/03\/22\/us-testing-stryker-mounted-lasers-in-iraq-amid-middle-east-drone-boom\/","title":{"rendered":"US testing Stryker-mounted lasers in Iraq amid Middle East drone boom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The U.S. military is tinkering with high-energy lasers in Iraq as part of a broader effort to refine directed-energy weapons and more effectively counter drones, according to the leader of Central Command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army earlier this year sent several laser weapons mounted to Stryker combat vehicles<\/a> to the Middle East. <\/b>It was unclear at the time exactly where the prototypes were stationed, but the move was in advancement of the service\u2019s short-range air defense goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gen. Michael Kurilla, the CENTCOM boss, on March 21 told Congress he has \u201cthree 50-kilowatt lasers that are Stryker-based\u201d inside Iraq \u201cright now.\u201d Experiments are underway, he added, to identify their best application. He did not disclose preliminary results. A request made to the command for additional information was not immediately answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High-energy lasers and related high-power microwave weapons<\/a> are capable of downing incoming threats in unorthodox ways and at a fraction of the cost of traditional munitions. Lasers can fire at the speed of light and burn holes through material, but are susceptible to weather conditions and particles in the air, such as sand. Microwaves can fry electronics en masse, but their efficacy is stunted at greater distances.<\/p>\n\n\n\t