Pentagon planners worried about the increasing threat from drones have looked at everything from mesh nets and missiles to cannons and lasers, but now a once highly-classified technology is attracting more attention and funding.
High-power microwave devices that can disrupt or even fry the electronics of aerial threats—such as drones and missiles—are moving to the forefront of defense strategies after years of development. In theory, microwave systems offer the ability to keep firing for as long as they have power, which could help take down a swarm of drones.
The stakes for developing such technologies are high: The relatively low cost of small drones has increasingly made them the weapon of choice for less sophisticated armies, terrorists and militant groups trying to overwhelm or slip through defense systems. Hamas has used suicide drones to attack Israel, and the Houthis have been launching drones from Yemen over the Red Sea.
Last week, a U.S. Navy destroyer shot down 14 Houthi drones. The Houthi attacks prompted the U.S. on Monday to unveil a multinational naval force to protect merchant vessels in the Red Sea.
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High-power microwave devices that can disrupt or even fry the electronics of aerial threats are moving to the forefront of defense strategies after years of development https://t.co/tKVbFDTYG2
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) December 19, 2023