U.S. Military Doubles Down on Directed Energy Weapons: Testing, Budgets & Challenges in 2025

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The U.S. Military’s Directed Energy Weapons Push Intensifies in 2025

The U.S. Department of Defense is pressing forward with research, prototyping, and limited field tests of directed energy weapons (DEWs) such as high-energy lasers and high-power microwaves, seeking to transition them from laboratory curiosities to operational tools. With evolving threats—particularly cheap drone swarms and saturation missile attacks—DEWs offer a potentially game-changing layer in multi-tiered defense architectures, enabling lower-cost engagements and rapid response at the speed of light.

In FY 2025, the DOD requested $789.7 million for directed energy programs, a moderate reduction from FY 2024 levels but still signaling strategic commitment. While funding is under pressure, momentum is visible in recent field tests and prototype efforts across the Army, Air Force, and Navy.

Where the Tests Are Happening: Live Fire, Prototypes, and Demos

Army Live-Fire Tests at Fort Sill

In mid-2025, U.S. Army units at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, conducted live-fire drills combining directed energy prototypes and conventional kinetic interceptors. The tests, executed by the 4th Battalion, 60th Air Defense Artillery with support from the Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO), targeted swarms of small unmanned aerial systems (UAS) using prototype DE M-SHORAD systems. The aim was not to displace kinetic systems but to validate how lasers and microwaves could augment existing air defense assets.

The Army is now eyeing the Enduring High Energy Laser initiative, with plans to begin acquisitions assuming funding in FY 2026. Officials highlight that laser technologies are nearing maturity—they “just need to be pulled across the finish line,” as one senior Army research head put it.

Army & Microwave: The THOR and HPM Frontier

The Air Force Research Laboratory’s THOR (Tactical High-Power Operational Responder) high-power microwave demonstrator remains a central piece of the DEW push for counter-UAS missions. Designed to disable the electronics of multiple UAVs in a sweep, THOR can be containerized and rapidly deployed.

Concurrently, the Phaser HPM system, developed by Raytheon, is under testing for short-range counter-UAS roles.

Naval & Sea-Level DEW Projects

The U.S. Navy and Office of Naval Research continue work on High-Energy Laser (HEL) and High-Power Microwave (HPM) systems for ship-based defense. Legacy efforts like the LaWS (Laser Weapon System) on USS Ponce have informed newer designs such as the Maritime Laser Demonstrator (MLD) and HEL for Expeditionary (HELEX). The Counter Directed Energy Weapons (CDEW) program is focusing on detection, mitigation, and platform survivability against adversary DEW attacks.

Budget Trajectories and Program Gaps

While the 2025 funding request is lower than in prior years, the DOD is still targeting key areas:

• $48.6 million sought for High Energy Laser Development
• $110.4 million earmarked for High Energy Laser Advanced Development (scaling outputs)
• $16.5 million for High Energy Laser Research Initiatives (basic research)
• Additional funds directed to assessments, effects, and limitations studies
• DARPA’s WARDEN program (Waveform Agile Radio-frequency Directed Energy) continues with smaller scale funds aimed at pushing HPM range and lethality

The funding dip underscores constraints and competing priorities but does not suggest a retreat. Rather, it reflects that many DEW programs are still in risk reduction, prototyping, and transition phases—not yet full-scale acquisition.

Strategic Context & Challenges Ahead

Economics vs. Attrition Warfare

A driving rationale for DEWs is cost per shot. While kinetic interceptors—Patriots, SM-series missiles, etc.—can cost millions apiece, DE engagements often scale to dollars or even cents per shot, limited largely by power and thermal constraints. Especially in high-intensity saturation attacks, DEWs can force adversaries into unfavorable cost imposition dynamics.

Still, DEWs will not replace kin­etic systems entirely. They are best viewed as part of a layered defense package: lasers and microwaves thinning incoming salvos, reserving interceptors for the hardest threats.

Technical Hurdles: Power, Cooling, Optics, and Weather

Major challenges remain in power generation and storage, thermal dissipation (cooling), beam director size/weight, and atmospheric effects (dust, fog, turbulence) that degrade performance.High-power microwave weapons also face constraints in how to focus energy, avoid collateral electronic damage, and maintain precision control.

Manufacturing, Engineering Base & Doctrine

Officials warn of an insufficient industrial base and shortage of engineers specialized in DEW systems. Further, operational doctrine, tactics, training, and rules of engagement must catch up. Users must learn the subtleties of beam control, optics alignment, energy budgeting, and integration into existing sensor-to-shooter architectures.

Global Momentum & Competition

U.S. adversaries and partners alike are racing to mature DEW capabilities. Israel’s “Iron Beam” system is slated for 2025 operational deployment. The United Kingdom’s DragonFire program recently achieved aerial target engagements. The defense market for directed energy is projected to nearly double (2022–2027) to over $12 billion.

In the private sector, companies like Epirus (which develops the Leonidas high-power microwave system) have recently raised $250 million to scale for U.S. and export markets.

Outlook: From Prototypes to Fielded Arsenal

The current phase is transitional—rigorous testing, gradual integration, and doctrinal development are essential. Over the next 3–5 years, the U.S. military aims to evolve DEWs from experimental testbeds into reliable elements of layered defenses on bases, ships, and potentially mobile platforms. The value lies not in replacing kinetic weapons, but in preserving them, lowering attrition, and shifting the tactical balance in future conflicts.

If these efforts succeed, they will represent one of the most significant evolutions in air and missile defense since the advent of surface-to-air missiles.

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Note: The images are AI-generated.