The U.S. Department of War demonstrated high-energy laser and high-power microwave weapons at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on June 23, 2026. The event was attended by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Emil Michael, marking the first publicly known instance of a sitting U.S. defense secretary personally observing a live directed energy weapon firing (Keller, 2026a).
The SCADE Critical Technology Area
The demonstration reflects the Pentagon’s formal prioritization of directed energy under the Scaled Directed Energy (SCADE) Critical Technology Area, one of six CTAs announced by Emil Michael on November 17, 2025. SCADE is defined by the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering as “breaking through affordability and production barriers to deliver cost-effective, high-energy solutions capable of neutralizing threats with precision” (Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering, 2025a). Michael’s office reduced the prior list of 14 CTAs to six, with each CTA structured around 12- to 36-month technology delivery “sprints” (Michael, 2025; Freedberg, 2025).
Systems Demonstrated at White Sands
According to sources cited by Laser Wars, the following directed energy systems participated in the June 23 demonstration (Keller, 2026a):
| System | Power Level | Developer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Army Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser (AMP-HEL) | 20 kW | AV (LOCUST platform) | First deployed overseas in 2022; integrated onto Infantry Squad Vehicles and JLTVs |
| DE-MSHORAD P5 variant | 50 kW | nLight | Predecessor to nLight’s 70 kW HADES system; Army conducted government acceptance testing in Q2 FY2026 |
| Indirect Fire Protection Capability-High Energy Laser (IFPC-HEL), “Valkyrie” | 300 kW | Lockheed Martin | Army does not plan to transition to program of record; prototype to inform JLWS |
| Indirect Fire Protection Capability-High Power Microwave (IFPC-HPM), “Leonidas” | N/A | Epirus | Army has taken receipt of six prototypes; no further procurement planned |
| Coyote Block 3 Non-Kinetic (BNK) high-power microwave variant | N/A | Raytheon | Defeats multiple drone swarms in non-kinetic mode |
Undersecretary Michael stated: “We have dramatically increased investment in scaling directed energy technologies, signaling to our manufacturing partners that the War Department is focused on delivering rapid solutions to the warfighter. We are directly tackling manufacturability, reliability and integration — areas that have challenged transition under previous administrations” (Keller, 2026a).
A senior Pentagon official told Laser Wars that the demonstration “affirmed the ability of directed energy systems, particularly high-energy lasers, to defeat high-density, highly proliferated threats from a variety of sources and power levels” (Keller, 2026a).
FY2027 Budget and Golden Dome Funding
The Pentagon’s fiscal year 2027 budget request proposes more than $2 billion in directed energy research, development, testing, and evaluation (RDT&E) funding (Keller, 2026b; Department of War, 2026). Of that total, $452 million is designated specifically for the development, integration, and assessment of directed energy weapons in support of the “Golden Dome for America” domestic missile defense architecture — more than triple the $142 million enacted under the reconciliation package signed in July 2025 (Keller, 2026c).
In a written posture statement submitted to the House Armed Services Committee on April 29, 2026, Secretary Hegseth stated that the Department must create “a strong and consistent demand signal on the order of tens to hundreds of units” of directed energy weapons to shift the defense industrial base from producing “a limited number of prototypes” to volume production (Hegseth, 2026).
The Enduring High Energy Laser (E-HEL) Program
The Army’s Enduring High Energy Laser (E-HEL) program is the service’s most advanced attempt to transition laser weapon R&D into a formal program of record. The modular 30 kW counter-drone system succeeds the DE-MSHORAD effort and is designed for soldier-maintainable sustainment using line-replaceable units. The Army plans to “produce and rapidly field” up to 24 E-HEL systems over five years, with the first prototype expected no later than the second quarter of FY2026 and initial procurement units slated for delivery by the end of FY2027 (Keller, 2026a; Keller, 2026c).
Three known E-HEL contenders are AV (LOCUST platform), nLight (P5 DE-MSHORAD), and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII). HII was awarded a $14.82 million contract for E-HEL system design, development, and integration in February 2025 and subsequently announced a dedicated laser weapon test facility (HII, 2025). AV’s LOCUST system was first deployed overseas in 2022 and was responsible for the U.S. military’s first acknowledged laser kill at the southern border with Mexico in February 2026 (Keller, 2026a).
The Joint Laser Weapon System (JLWS) and Golden Dome
Separate from E-HEL, the Army and Navy are jointly developing the Joint Laser Weapon System (JLWS), a containerized 150 kW high-energy laser weapon designed to counter incoming cruise missiles as part of the Golden Dome architecture. The Army and Navy plan to invest $675.93 million over five years under JLWS (Keller, 2026c). The JLWS effort was initiated under the auspices of the Golden Dome initiative and is overseen by Michael’s office rather than individual service branches (Keller, 2026a).
Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee’s Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee on May 19, 2026, Michael stated that a directed energy demonstration as part of the Golden Dome architecture is committed for the summer of 2028 (Keller, 2026c).
References
Department of War. (2026). FY 2027 Department of War budget request overview. Office of the Comptroller. https://comptroller.war.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/FY2027/FY2027_Budget_Request_Overview_Book.pdf
Freedberg, S. J., Jr. (2025, November 17). From lasers to logistics: Pentagon CTO announces top six tech priorities. Breaking Defense. From lasers to logistics: Pentagon CTO announces top six tech priorities - Breaking Defense
Hegseth, P. (2026, April 29). Written posture statement: FY2027 Department of War budget request. House Armed Services Committee. https://armedservices.house.gov/uploadedfiles/2026-04-29_fy27_posture_hegseth_testimony.pdf
HII. (2025, September 30). HII announces investment in new integration and test facility to support U.S. Army high energy laser weapon system. Huntington Ingalls Industries. HII Announces Investment in New Integration and Test Facility to Support U.S. Army High-Energy Laser Weapon System | HII Newsroom
Keller, J. (2026a, June 23). EXCLUSIVE: Pentagon demonstrates laser weapons for Hegseth. Laser Wars. US Military Demonstrates Laser Weapons for Hegseth
Keller, J. (2026b, April 8). The Pentagon’s FY2027 budget bet on directed energy weapons. Laser Wars. US Military FY2027 Budget Request: Directed Energy Weapons
Keller, J. (2026c, June 2). The US military wants to showcase battle-ready laser weapons by 2028. Military Times. The US military wants to showcase battle-ready laser weapons by 2028
Michael, E. (2025, November 17). Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering Emil Michael announces six critical technology areas for the War Department. U.S. Department of War. https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4333074/under-secretary-of-war-for-research-and-engineering-emil-michael-announces-six/
Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering. (2025a). Critical technology areas. Critical Technology Areas – DoW Research & Engineering, OUSW(R&E)
AI generated