The War Zone
• Joseph Trevithick
The military has deployed high-energy laser weapons around President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, as part of a counter-drone shield requested by the Secret Service. The deployment is a security application of directed-energy weapons against unmanned aircraft.
UAV Development & Drone Programs
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Shield AI is developing the X-Bat, a vertical-landing combat aircraft, under the leadership of a former SpaceX engineer. The project places the company among efforts to shape next-generation combat aviation, where autonomous operations and unconventional aircraft configurations are emerging features of future fighter concepts.
Mar-a-Lago is the latest real-world deployment site for the U.S. military’s growing arsenal of LOCUST counter-drone lasers. The system is now guarding President Donald Trump’s Florida estate, extending the weapon’s use to a high-profile protected location; the report provides no details on deployment size or operational performance.
The military has deployed high-energy laser weapons around President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, as part of a counter-drone shield requested by the Secret Service. The deployment is a security application of directed-energy weapons against unmanned aircraft.
A technical breakdown published by Ukraine’s HUR says the Gerbera-2 can travel up to 1,200 kilometers and carry a 25-kilogram warhead. Other reports in the cluster describe Russian use of jet-powered BM-35 and BM-70 attack UAVs, while Ukrainian forces report intercepting them.
The device’s makers say the small receiver can capture live video transmissions from Russian unmanned systems, giving Ukrainian drone operators real-time access to enemy feeds. The report does not specify the receiver’s range, the systems it can target or how widely it is being deployed.
LMT Defence and Thales Italia will explore using mobile-network infrastructure and defense 4G/5G to detect and counter drones, while Gallium Defense raised €7.1 million for a radar it says could cost €500,000. Separately, AeroVironment tapped Leonardo DRS to integrate power and thermal-management systems for the U.S. Army’s Enduring-High Energy Laser program.
Oshkosh and Grid Aero plan to collaborate on design for manufacturability, production planning and supply-chain optimization, with the eventual goal of building Grid Aero’s Lifter aircraft at scale. The partnership brings Oshkosh into larger unmanned aircraft systems as the companies focus on preparing the aircraft and its production system for growth.
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