The Army Has Laser Weapons at the Border. Now Comes the Hard Part: Fixing Them in the Field.

The Army's 20-kilowatt lasers at the U.S.-Mexico border may be the first real test of whether soldiers can fix them in the field, an analysis argues. No repair data have been published.

TL;DR

Drone-killing lasers have stopped being science fiction: the Army has them operating at the U.S.-Mexico border and has ordered more than two dozen production units. A new analysis argues the next hurdle is far less glamorous than the beam itself. A laser weapon depends on spotless optics, and a speck of debris on a lens can absorb heat and damage it; repairs usually happen in a clean room, which no battlefield has. The border lasers are the first real chance to learn whether ordinary soldiers can keep these weapons clean, aligned and firing day after day. If they can, cheap laser shots could become a routine shield for bases and troops against cheap drones. Our odds that laser drone defense is in routine U.S. Army use: 88%, likely by 2028. For a breakdown of those odds and a timeline of the steps that could make laser shields routine, subscribe.

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