Futuristic Laser Weapons Emerge as Anti-Drone Solution

Militaries and startups are developing laser-based defenses against cheap, swarming drones

Published on Mar. 8, 2026

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Futuristic laser weapons are now being deployed by some militaries and demonstrated by Ukrainian startups as a potential solution to the growing threat of cheap, swarming drones. While the technology holds promise, experts note significant limitations around "dwell time" required to damage targets and vulnerability to environmental conditions like rain and dust.

Why it matters

The rise of low-cost drone technology, like the Shahed suicide drones used by Russia against Ukraine, has upended traditional air defense strategies that rely on expensive interceptor missiles. Laser weapons offer a potentially more cost-effective counter, but their practical limitations mean they are likely to emerge as just one component of future multi-layered air defense systems.

The details

Laser weapons work by burning through a target's airframe or systems to cause failure, but require several seconds of "dwell time" to do so - unlike missiles that can be fired in rapid succession. Manufacturers tout lasers' lack of collateral damage, but they also present new risks, as seen when a US border patrol firing a laser weapon at a party balloon caused the grounding of all flights in the El Paso, Texas airspace for 8 hours. Experts say the emergence of laser weapons will likely spur further evolution in drone design, including heat-resistant shielding or rotating frames to avoid concentrated targeting.

  • In December 2025, the Israeli military fielded a laser weapon system called Iron Beam.
  • In March 2024, a demonstration of laser weapon damage to a consumer quadcopter drone was shown to the press in France.

The players

Iron Beam

A laser weapon system developed and deployed by the Israeli military to counter "various aerial threats" faced by Israel.

Electro Optical Systems

An Australian firm that recently won an $85 million contract to produce laser weapons for the Netherlands.

Jared Keller

A US-based laser weapons expert who publishes a newsletter on the fledgling technology.

Andreas Schwer

The CEO of Electro Optical Systems, an Australian firm that recently won an $85 million contract to produce laser weapons for the Netherlands.

Jamey Jacob

A professor of aerospace engineering at Oklahoma State University.

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What they’re saying

“High-energy laser weapons are particularly well-suited to dealing with [kamikaze drone attacks] because they can engage targets very quickly and repeatedly. The ammunition for a laser is electrical power rather than missiles or ammunition.”

— Andreas Schwer, CEO, Electro Optical Systems (RFE/RL)

“As opposed to a missile launcher that can fire off multiple interceptor missiles at once, a laser has to lock onto a target and direct the beam onto it in the same place, and only then you reacquire a new target.”

— Jared Keller, Laser weapons expert (RFE/RL)

“In the end, this is all a game of cat and mouse. Once you have an effective defense against a threat that effectively or substantially neutralizes it, a new variant of the threat emerges. That is the nature of modern war.”

— Jamey Jacob, Professor of aerospace engineering, Oklahoma State University (RFE/RL)

The takeaway

While futuristic laser weapons offer a potentially more cost-effective counter to the growing threat of cheap, swarming drones, their practical limitations mean they are likely to emerge as just one component of future multi-layered air defense systems. The development of laser weapons will also likely spur further evolution in drone design as both sides in the "game of cat and mouse" continue to adapt.