I

 wouldn't get all excited about it just yet.

Pretty much just means 

we've realized 

we cant keep on s

hooting down 

$2000 drones with

$2 million missiles.

The Army Has Officially Deployed Laser Weapons Overseas 

to Combat Enemy Drones

"The Army's Palletized High Energy Laser, or P-HEL, during testing at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, in April 2022. Based on BlueHalo's LOCUST Laser Weapon System, the P-HEL was recently deployed to an undisclosed location overseas."

(U.S. Army photo/Brandon Mejia)

"The 20-kilowatt Palletized High Energy Laser, or P-HEL, "is currently deployed to support the Army's mission" in an undisclosed location abroad, a spokesman for the service's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office, which manages its directed-energy portfolio, told Military.com."

"The P-HEL, which is based on defense contractor BlueHalo's LOCUST Laser Weapon System, "commenced operational employment" overseas in November 2022, while a second system arrived abroad "earlier this year," the company recently revealed in a press release."

"While the Army's top general responsible for counter-drone efforts had previously stated that several different laser weapons systems were undergoing "operational assessments" in the U.S. Central Command, U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command areas of responsibility, news of the P-HEL's operational employment marks the U.S. military's first publicly acknowledged deployment of a working laser weapon for air defense outside of experimental testing."

(We cant afford to keep testing.

We need them operational now.

Ready or now.

I keep saying 

we got got caught with our pants down.)

"The service declined to confirm whether the P-HEL had achieved a "kill" against an incoming drone yet."

"The P-HEL, which is based on defense contractor BlueHalo's LOCUST Laser Weapon System, "commenced operational employment" overseas in November 2022"

(And still cant even lie to us about whether or not it has achieved a kill?

Like I said, "ready or not, we need em now,)

"While the service declined to specify where the P-HEL systems were deployed, citing operational security, the Defense Department's top spokesman had previously suggested that directed-energy weapons were part of the defensive arsenal of U.S. military forces in the Middle East currently subject to the ongoing drone and missile attacks since the start of Israel's war in Gaza in October."

(Translation:

Iran is getting ready to overwhelm Israel defenses)

"Additionally, Gen. Michael "Erik" Kurilla, head of U.S. Central Command, told lawmakers at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in March that the Army had "sent us some directed-energy, mobile, short-range air defense that we are experimenting with right now over in the Middle East."

"Central Command did not respond to a request for comment by deadline."

"The P-HEL's employment comes as the U.S. military seeks to bolster its air defense capabilities to protect service members abroad not just with expensive conventional munitions -- such as the $2.1 million Standard Missile-2 naval missile and the $480,000 Stinger missile that have helped run up a $1 billion tab for the Pentagon in the Middle East since October -- but effective, lower-cost, counter-drone solutions that can knock incoming threats out of the sky without breaking the bank. Indeed, the Army's fiscal 2025 budget includes roughly $447 million for research, development, testing and evaluation for counter-drone programs, according to the service, $140 million of which is focused on directed-energy efforts."

(Our adversaries know were broke.

That we can not build missiles as fast 

as we need to be able to.

That we dont have the components we need.

And that we dont have the people to build them with.

Remember when you couldn't wait for COVID to get over so everything could get back to normal?

WELCOME TO IT.)

"But the Pentagon isn't waiting for R&D to aggressively boost its air defenses.

The Army in February inked a deal with defense contractor Raytheon for hundreds of Coyote Block 2C interceptors -- at $100,000 a shot -- explicitly to support its counter-drone initiatives in the Middle East.

The Navy in April put in an "urgent" order to MSI Defense Solutions for the truck-mounted Electronic Advanced Ground Launcher Systems, or EAGLS, armed with laser-guided Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II rockets -- $25,000 each -- to combat "emerging and persistent [drone] threats" in the Central Command area of responsibility."

"Meanwhile, both the Army and Marine Corps are aggressively on the hunt for additional counter-drone tech."

"If operationally proven, a laser weapon could drastically turn that cost calculus on its head: The average laser weapon costs between only $1 and $10 per shot, according to a 2023 report from the Government Accountability Office."

"And military commanders are thinking beyond just lasers. In March, Kurilla called on lawmakers to consider expediting the development of high-powered microwaves -- directed-energy weapons that can blanket an area with powerful electromagnetic radiation, disabling multiple targets simultaneously -- to fill in gaps in U.S. air defenses in the Middle East."

etc etc etc...

As they say;

And the band played on.