Pentagon Eyes Airborne Lasers for Missile Defense

The U.S. Defense Department recently began testing a laser that might someday be affixed to drones to knock incoming missiles out of the sky.

Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, nominated by the Obama administration to replace Army Gen. Martin Dempsey as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he agrees with Navy Adm. William Gortney, head of U.S. Northern Command, on the need for the military to develop ways to thwart ballistic missiles earlier in flight, possibly with lasers.

“Current capabilities are limited to denial in the mid-course and beyond phases; we need to look for solutions across the entire ballistic missile kill chain,” Dunford said in written remarks submitted as part of his confirmation hearing last week before the Senate Armed Services Committee. “The science shows a ballistic missile is comparatively easy to detect and track while boosting.”