{"id":36152,"date":"2023-04-13T19:08:39","date_gmt":"2023-04-13T19:08:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2023\/04\/13\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:53:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:53:05","slug":"army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/unmanned\/2023\/04\/13\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\/","title":{"rendered":"Army short-range air defense laser prototypes take down drones at Yuma"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 Downed drones littered the battlefield at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona during a live-fire test of the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2018\/02\/13\/us-army-could-get-laser-for-short-range-air-defense-in-under-five-years\/\" target=\"_blank\"> Stryker-based Short-Range Air Defense system prototypes with 50-kilowatt lasers<\/a>, according to the director of Army\u2019s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen they got out on the range, they were knocking targets out of the sky, Group 1, Group 2, Group 3 [unmanned aircraft systems],\u201d Lt. Gen. Robert Rasch said told Defense News in an interview. \u201cVery, very effective.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the lasers made short work of drones, some challenges remain in taking out rockets, artillery and mortars, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/battlefield-tech\/2022\/10\/14\/shorad-laser-weapon-will-stay-in-development-phase-longer-than-planned\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Stryker-MMHEL-comp-26.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">SHORAD laser weapon will stay in development phase longer than planned<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A 50-kilowatt laser weapon version of the Army\u2019s Stryker-based Short-Range Air Defense system will remain a development program longer than planned.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army is now receiving its first platoon-set of the systems, taking the first two of the Directed Energy Maneuver-SHORAD prototypes to Yuma earlier this year for training with soldiers. The third prototype is about to go into acceptance testing, according to Rasch, and the fourth will be delivered within the next couple of months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Delivering the first platoon-set \u2014 four DE M-SHORAD prototypes \u2014 will complete RCCTO\u2019s mission, but the office won\u2019t stop there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Developmental testing with soldiers will continue over the next quarter and in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, the Army will begin developing tactics, techniques and procedures for the systems, Rasch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s a lot, when you look at fielding a capability, you don\u2019t just field a technology, you have to figure out how to integrate that technology into a warfighting capability,\u201d Rasch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army fielded its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/ausa\/2022\/10\/11\/army-puts-short-range-air-defense-to-test-on-eastern-european-front\/\" target=\"_blank\">M-SHORAD system with a kinetic capability to Europe <\/a>in response to an urgent operational need. \u201cWe\u2019ve got kinetic M-SHORAD, we\u2019ve got directed energy M-SHORAD, we\u2019re just now getting short-range air defense back into our maneuver units. So they\u2019re still figuring out the TTPs on how to fight that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And the Army also has to figure out the right mix of those systems and how it wants to use them in operations, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then RCCTO, in partnership with Army Test and Evaluation Command, will take the DE M-SHORAD into a user assessment beginning in the fourth quarter of FY23 through the first quarter of FY24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"8320\" height=\"5657\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/shoradgermany.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-117427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/shoradgermany.jpg.jpg 8320w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/shoradgermany.jpg.jpg?resize=300,204 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/shoradgermany.jpg.jpg?resize=768,522 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/shoradgermany.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,696 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/shoradgermany.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1044 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/shoradgermany.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1392 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 8320px) 100vw, 8320px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. Army air defenders with Alpha Battery, 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, reloads ammo during a M-SHORAD live fire Feb. 9 at Grafenwoehr. The Army is developing a 50-kilowatt laser weapon for the SHORAD system and is in the process of delivering the first Platoon set for testing. (Photo by Pfc. Yesenia Cadavid\/U.S. Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Already the system has come a long way, Rasch said, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2021\/10\/11\/first-platoon-of-short-range-air-defense-systems-get-workout-ahead-of-bigger-events\/\" target=\"_blank\">compared to the prototypes the Army evaluated<\/a> just a year ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The effort to put a laser on an M-SHORAD vehicle began in mid-2019, when the Army awarded KBR subsidiary Kord Technologies a contract to integrate a laser system onto the vehicle. Kord, as the program\u2019s prime contractor, subsequently awarded subcontracts to Northrop Grumman and Raytheon Technologies teams to develop the laser module.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The competition between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2019\/08\/01\/northrop-and-raytheon-to-compete-to-build-laser-weapon-for-short-range-air-defense\/\" target=\"_blank\">Northrop and Raytheon to produce the laser module <\/a>was intended to culminate in a shoot-off between the two teams. Kord and the Army then planned to agree on a winner and proceed with integration of the selected module onto three more Strykers to make a platoon\u2019s worth of directed energy SHORAD systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Supplied to both teams was a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2020\/10\/01\/general-dynamics-gets-12-billion-to-build-short-range-air-defense-systems-for-us-army\/\" target=\"_blank\">General Dynamics Land Systems-built Stryker<\/a> and a power and thermal management system from Rocky Research, a Nevada-based company focused on thermal management technology. Rocky Research was acquired by Honeywell in October 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Early struggles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Northrop <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2021\/08\/18\/northrop-bows-out-of-competition-to-build-laser-weapon-for-strykers\/\" target=\"_blank\">took itself out of the running<\/a> ahead of the shoot-off in early 2021 after problems with the power and thermal management system resulted in a fire and smoke damage to the laser system and other components. Northrop continued to have issues with the system and decided it couldn\u2019t continue after a January 2021 checkout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following the shoot-off in 2021, the Army awarded Raytheon a $123 million contract to supply the laser weapon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the Army expected to receive the first set of DE M-SHORAD systems last fall, the delivery has come slower than expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Defense News first reported that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/ausa\/2022\/10\/14\/shorad-laser-weapon-will-stay-in-development-phase-longer-than-planned\/\" target=\"_blank\">DE M-SHORAD system would stay in development longer<\/a> and not transfer to a program of record with Program Executive Office Missiles &amp; Space until FY25. According to FY24 budget justification documents, the Army will begin the transfer process in the first quarter of FY25 and complete it by the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The budget documents also show an Increment 2 award for the next platoon set of DE M-SHORAD won\u2019t happen until the third quarter of FY23. The plan a year ago was to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2022\/03\/30\/us-armys-short-range-air-defense-capability-will-grow-to-a-battalion-by-years-end\/\" target=\"_blank\">award a contract <\/a>in the third quarter of FY22. Prototyping has subsequently been pushed back by a year beginning in FY23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But despite the schedule slips for Increment 2 prototyping, the Army will still deliver its prototypes for the second platoon by the fourth quarter of FY24, indicated in budget plans a year ago, just ahead of the planned transfer to PEO Missiles &amp; Space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re still learning a lot about directed energy from 10-kilowatt systems up to 300-kilowatt systems and we\u2019re still trying to collect all of the data on lethality, the capabilities of these systems,\u201d Rasch said. While the development is expensive on the front end, he added, the cost per shot from a laser is exponentially more affordable than a munition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So the RCCTO is focused on, over the next year, on k<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/ausa\/2021\/10\/12\/lockheed-plans-to-pitch-air-defense-laser-weapon-in-future-army-competition\/\" target=\"_blank\">eeping the industrial base for laser weapons competitive <\/a>in order to continue to drive affordability into the development process of these systems, Rasch noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/smd\/2022\/08\/18\/the-us-army-digs-a-new-sandbox-for-its-laser-weapons\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DESILRANGE.JPG.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US Army digs new sandbox for laser weapons<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Army&#039;s new Directed Energy Systems Integration Laboratory will help the service drive down cost and schedule risk in emerging laser weapons programs.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army plans to open up a competition to produce the DE M-SHORAD capability, but that won\u2019t happen until it is under the purview of PEO Missiles &amp; Space, Rasch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The service is also working on what\u2019s next for SHORAD including other capabilities that would roll into future systems. Those activities will begin in the first quarter of FY26 through the fourth quarter of FY30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army plans to procure another kinetic interceptor to ultimately <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2022\/04\/07\/us-army-initiates-plan-to-replace-stingers-with-next-gen-interceptor\/\" target=\"_blank\">replace the Stinger missile<\/a> currently used in the M-SHORAD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to FY24 budget documents, the service will award prototype contracts in the third quarter of FY23 and will design, develop and build prototypes by the third quarter of FY27.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A technology demonstration for the new missile will take place in the third quarter of FY24. Developmental testing will occur from the second quarter of FY26 through the third quarter of FY27, followed by an operational assessment in the third quarter of FY27.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army would then enter into low-rate initial production in the fourth quarter of FY27 through the fourth quarter of FY29, the documents show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The RCCTO is also working on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/smd\/2022\/08\/11\/this-infantry-squad-vehicle-is-getting-a-laser-to-destroy-drones\/\" target=\"_blank\">smaller laser weapon for the Army\u2019s Infantry Squad Vehicle<\/a> as well. The Army selected SAIC to integrate the 20-kilowatt laser onto the GM Defense manufactured vehicle. Prototyping will take place from the second quarter of FY23 through the fourth quarter of FY24, according to the Army\u2019s budget documents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Army&#8217;s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office chief said its Short-Range Air Defense 50-kilowatt laser weapon is performing well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":29007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":21,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[7,29,32,57,21,111],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3286],"class_list":["post-36152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-battlefield-tech","category-home","category-newsletters","category-uas","category-unmanned","category-unmanned-systems"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"YYMS5SRQXJGZPIRXYB4PNZTOEQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/land\/2023\/04\/13\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Army short-range air defense laser prototypes take down drones at Yuma - C4ISRNet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Army&#039;s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office chief said its Short-Range Air Defense 50-kilowatt laser weapon is performing well.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2023\/04\/13\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Army short-range air defense laser prototypes take down drones at Yuma\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Army&#039;s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office chief said its Short-Range Air Defense 50-kilowatt laser weapon is performing well.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/unmanned\/2023\/04\/13\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"C4ISRNet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-04-13T19:08:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T00:53:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jen Judson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jen Judson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/unmanned\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/13\\\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/unmanned\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/13\\\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Army short-range air defense laser prototypes take down drones at Yuma\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2023-04-13T19:08:39+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T00:53:05+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/unmanned\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/13\\\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 1168,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/unmanned\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/13\\\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Stryker-MMHEL-comp-26.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Battlefield Tech\",\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"UAS\",\n\t                \"Unmanned\",\n\t                \"Unmanned Systems\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/unmanned\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/13\\\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/unmanned\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/13\\\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/unmanned\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/13\\\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Army short-range air defense laser prototypes take down drones at Yuma - C4ISRNet\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/unmanned\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/13\\\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/unmanned\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/13\\\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Stryker-MMHEL-comp-26.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2023-04-13T19:08:39+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T00:53:05+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"The Army's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office chief said its Short-Range Air Defense 50-kilowatt laser weapon is performing well.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/unmanned\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/13\\\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/unmanned\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/13\\\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/unmanned\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/13\\\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Stryker-MMHEL-comp-26.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Stryker-MMHEL-comp-26.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/unmanned\\\/2023\\\/04\\\/13\\\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Unmanned\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/unmanned\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"unmanned\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Army short-range air defense laser prototypes take down drones at Yuma\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"C4ISRNet\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Media for the Intelligence-Age Military | C4ISRNET\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"C4ISRNet\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c4isrnet-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c4isrnet-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"C4ISRNet\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Army short-range air defense laser prototypes take down drones at Yuma - C4ISRNet","description":"The Army's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office chief said its Short-Range Air Defense 50-kilowatt laser weapon is performing well.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2023\/04\/13\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Army short-range air defense laser prototypes take down drones at Yuma","og_description":"The Army's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office chief said its Short-Range Air Defense 50-kilowatt laser weapon is performing well.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/unmanned\/2023\/04\/13\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\/","og_site_name":"C4ISRNet","article_published_time":"2023-04-13T19:08:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T00:53:05+00:00","author":"Jen Judson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jen Judson","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/unmanned\/2023\/04\/13\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/unmanned\/2023\/04\/13\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Army short-range air defense laser prototypes take down drones at Yuma","datePublished":"2023-04-13T19:08:39+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T00:53:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/unmanned\/2023\/04\/13\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\/"},"wordCount":1168,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/unmanned\/2023\/04\/13\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Stryker-MMHEL-comp-26.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Battlefield Tech","Home","Newsletters","UAS","Unmanned","Unmanned Systems"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/unmanned\/2023\/04\/13\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/unmanned\/2023\/04\/13\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/unmanned\/2023\/04\/13\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\/","name":"Army short-range air defense laser prototypes take down drones at Yuma - C4ISRNet","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/unmanned\/2023\/04\/13\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/unmanned\/2023\/04\/13\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Stryker-MMHEL-comp-26.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2023-04-13T19:08:39+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T00:53:05+00:00","description":"The Army's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office chief said its Short-Range Air Defense 50-kilowatt laser weapon is performing well.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/unmanned\/2023\/04\/13\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/unmanned\/2023\/04\/13\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/unmanned\/2023\/04\/13\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Stryker-MMHEL-comp-26.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Stryker-MMHEL-comp-26.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/unmanned\/2023\/04\/13\/army-short-range-air-defense-laser-prototypes-take-down-drones-at-yuma\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Unmanned","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/unmanned\/","ad_zone":"unmanned"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Army short-range air defense laser prototypes take down drones at Yuma"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/","name":"C4ISRNet","description":"Media for the Intelligence-Age Military | C4ISRNET","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#organization","name":"C4ISRNet","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c4isrnet-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c4isrnet-logo-white.png","caption":"C4ISRNet"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Stryker-MMHEL-comp-26.jpg.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"C4ISRNet","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36152"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36157,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36152\/revisions\/36157"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36152"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=36152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}