Lockheed shoots drones out of the sky with it’s newest laser weapon
Laser weapons are coming of age and it won't be long before they're deployed on the battlefield, and that's bad news for drones and drone fans
Key takeaways
- Last week Lockheed Martin teamed up with the US Army Space and Missile Defence Command (USASMDC) to show off its prototype laser weapon, dubbed ATHENA (Advanced Test High Energy Asset) to blow five Outlaw drones out of the sky.
- For example, the base model is capable of shooting a 60 kW beam, which could easily be upped to 120 kW if required.
- Following the test, Lockheed Martin and the US Army will now carry out a post mission review and, using the data they collected, they plan on building a bigger better laser.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2017) 'Lockheed shoots drones out of the sky with it’s newest laser weapon', 311 Institute, 17 October. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/lockheeds-new-laser-system-shoots-drones-out-of-the-sky/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
Remember when you were growing up and every sci fi film you watched, from James Bond to Star Wars, showed leaser weapons blasting things out of the sky? Well, if Lockheed Martin’s latest demonstration is anything to go by then soon, as soon as 2020, you could be living in that sci fi world.
Last week Lockheed Martin teamed up with the US Army Space and Missile Defence Command (USASMDC) to show off its prototype laser weapon, dubbed ATHENA (Advanced Test High Energy Asset) to blow five Outlaw drones out of the sky.
“The tests at [White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico] against aerial targets validated our lethality models and replicated the results we’ve seen against static targets at our own test range,” said Keoki Jackson, Lockheed Martin’s CTO, “as we mature the technology behind laser weapon systems, we’re making the entire system more effective and moving closer to a laser weapon that will provide greater protection to our war fighters by taking on more sophisticated threats from a longer range.”
The ATHENA weapon is currently powered by a compact Rolls-Royce turbo generator, and what makes it, apparently, extra special, is the fact that it boasts a “smart modular design” that allows its operators to vary the amount of power it wields by adding or taking away laser modules. For example, the base model is capable of shooting a 60 kW beam, which could easily be upped to 120 kW if required.
As to why it’s being used in demonstrations to shoot Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) though the explanation is easy, once deployed it’ll likely be used to protect forward operating bases and soldiers at the front from swarms of drones, like the ones the US trialled recently, and one of the big advantages of lasers like ATHENA is that they offer greater speed, flexibility, precision, and lower cost per engagement when compared to alternative weapons. And if the lasers fail, then soldiers could always just use another new technology called "MESMER" to take them over.
However, while all of this drone killing might sound great, if you’re a soldier, or horrible, if you’re a drone fan, drone’s are already starting to fight back against these next generation laser systems before they’re even in the field thanks to nanotechnology and new materials that absorb and disperse the laser’s energy, and, if you’re a drone fan and a sci fi fan then there’s even more wonder in store – deflector shields. Yes, recently BAE announced they’d finally figured out how to make them – awesome!
Following the test, Lockheed Martin and the US Army will now carry out a post mission review and, using the data they collected, they plan on building a bigger better laser. Lasers 5 – Drones 0.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
Laser weapons are coming of age and it won't be long before they're deployed on the battlefield, and that's bad news for drones and drone fans
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
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Sources and further reading
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 17 October 2017. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2017). Lockheed shoots drones out of the sky with it’s newest laser weapon. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/lockheeds-new-laser-system-shoots-drones-out-of-the-sky/
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