An Army leadership shakeup, plus lasers on the border
US soldiers are demonstrating new systems to shoot down drones while the Army starts the search for a new secretary.
Pentagon counter-drone task force preps ‘shoot-off’ for directed energy prototypes
A promising demonstration could result "in a purchase order that allows us to start building the production lines to get these systems into the field,” said Army Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, director of the Pentagon’s JIATF-401.
The defense intelligence community’s AI and cyber view forward
From AI adoption and agentic systems to Zero Trust and cyber resilience, Breaking Defense’s latest eBook brings together key reporting from DoDIIS 2026 on the technologies and strategies shaping the future of defense intelligence.
Laser air defenses will be operational before decade’s end, Lockheed exec says
In a nod to a common refrain that laser systems are always just five years away, Lockheed Martin’s Stephanie Hill said, “Not anymore.”
Army reveals new details on autonomous launcher, high energy laser program
Lt. Gen. Frank Lozano told an audience Tuesday that the service is looking to award the first contracts for its CAML program next month, and it is in final negotiations with AV for its E-HEL initiative.
Pentagon picks Lockheed, nLIGHT for laser defense project
Separately, MBDA and Rheinmetall were selected to develop a laser weapon system for the German Navy.
Thales ramps up guided rocket production to address increased ME demand
"We more than doubled the [production] number, considering the situation at the moment in the Middle East,” a company executive told Breaking Defense.
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Three exercises that pushed counter–UAS from prototype to proven
Architecture that linked sensors, C2, RF effects, and lasers into a distributed c-UAS kill chain.
CNO: Trump-class battleships could be ‘forcing function’ for Navy to beef up laser efforts
“I want to get behind this. I want this to work," Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle said of lasers throughout the fleet.
Pentagon CTO picks six defense tech vets to lead Critical Technology Areas
The six men range from a former Amazon exec to a biologist who studied jellyfish stinging Navy divers, but all have extensive experience in the Defense Department’s tech apparatus.
Rafael unveils Iron Beam 450 laser air defense for DSEI
Iron Beam 450 derives its name from the 450mm aperture of the system.
Army’s laser weapons ‘pretty mature,’ could ‘contribute’ to next-gen missile defense
High-power microwave weapons, however, require more research, according to the head of the Space and Missile Defense Command's Technical Center.
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Physics AI is different and changes the way defense systems are designed
Models that replicate real-world physics streamline design, testing and iteration processes.
State of Navy’s shipboard laser efforts is embarrassing, says top fleet commander
More Navy leaders as of late have been publicly bemoaning the service's inability to scale functional laser weapon systems.
The Army’s ‘most challenging’ unmanned threat? Group 3 drones
Mid-size, Group 3 drones occupy something of an uncomfortable middle ground between small drones that can be destroyed by self-protection missions and larger drones that are better handled by traditional air defense systems, according to Army Maj. Gen. David Stewart.
Army putting ‘significant … emphasis’ on air and missile defense with looming investments
“We see a lot more demand than we can possibly keep up with, that's one of the reasons … the air defense force is so strained, frequent deployments [and the] significant demand signal to meet hotspots all over the world,” Army Under Secretary Gabe Camarillo told Breaking Defense.
France claims world’s first space-to-earth laser comms
“Others have already demonstrated the proof of concept that a laser link can be established between a satellite and a ground-station but we are proposing an actual product that exists and can be bought off-the-shelf," Jean-Francois Morizur, co-founder and CEO of Cailabs, told Breaking Defense.