New Army Laser Weapon | What Is DE M-SHORAD? popularmechanics.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from popularmechanics.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By COREY DICKSTEIN | STARS AND STRIPES Published: May 13, 2021 REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. The Pentagon is betting big that laser weapons, once firmly confined to the realm of science fiction, will prove to be critical battlefield technology as the Army’s first prototype laser weapon is set for its initial live-fire test this month. It took the Army, with defense contractor Kord Technologies, less than two years to build the first Directed Energy Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense system, or DE M-SHORAD a Stryker A1 vehicle outfitted with a 50-kilowatt high-energy laser. Army officials want to field the first four DE M-SHORADs to soldiers by late next year to provide highly mobile air defense protection against new world threats like armed enemy drones.