The American army can always move ahead when the face of warfare shifts. With drones, loitering munitions, and precision-guided missiles emerging as an increasing danger, securing soldiers on the move has never been more imperative than it is today. To meet that need, the Army has looked to something that was only found in the pages of science fiction in the past—high-energy lasers. Headlining this new wave is the DE M-SHORAD, or Directed Energy Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense, a Stryker-mounted system with a 50-kilowatt laser powerful enough to blast drones, mortars, and small rockets out of the air.
This is more than a modest tweak—it’s a wholesale change in the way the Army conceptualizes air defense. Relying on the tried-and-tested Stryker platform, the DE M-SHORAD provides quick, stealthy, and precision protection from the skies. In contrast to missile systems that rely on costly interceptors and finite ammo, the laser’s “ammunition” is energy. Provided it’s fired up, it can continuously shoot, so each round costs pennies compared to legacy systems.
Army Air Defense Artillery School Brig. Gen. Glenn Henke referred to the system as a milestone in countering aerial attacks. When a prototype from the early days was put on display at the Fort Sill Museum, it wasn’t for show—it was a signal that laser weapons had moved from the realm of theory into the real world, officially part of the Army’s history.
Creating such a system was no easy task. The Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) and the Advanced Concepts and Critical Technologies Project Office were able to compress what would have taken decades of research into a matter of a few years.
They engaged with soldiers from the beginning, receiving feedback that informed every stage of testing and development. A platoon of four laser-armed Strykers was sent to Fort Sill for real-world trials, where troops could test the system in combat-like conditions rather than controlled lab environments.
The breakthrough arrived with live-fire exercises by the 4th Battalion, 60th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, incorporating both conventional and directed-energy weapons. The tests were not scripted—they mimicked swarms of drones and rocket fire that required split-second timing. As Col. Steven D. Gutierrez, RCCTO’s directed energy program manager, described, the emphasis is now on optimizing how the technology is applied—training, doctrine, and crew preparedness are essential to realizing its full value.
Industry collaborators have played a key role in bringing laser defense into being. Others, such as nLIGHT, have built strong, battle-hardened 50kW-class lasers that can survive brutal operating environments.
Their contracts that continue to roll serve to illustrate just how committed the Army is towards progressing from prototypes. While that has been happening, Raytheon has tested laser tech on everything from ground vehicles to aircraft, demonstrating that directed energy can transition across platforms. As nLIGHT CEO Scott Keeney said, this technology is no longer limited to the lab—it’s ready for the battlefield.
Naturally, the way forward hasn’t been without its own set of hiccups. A recent government report noted that the DE M-SHORAD system still requires more work before it can go into mass production. Power generation, heat management, and system lifespan proved to be greater stumbling blocks than anticipated. Rather than pushing ahead hastily, the Army has opted to stretch testing—utilizing real-world input from troops to hone the system to perfection before mass deployment.
None of these setbacks has changed the Army’s overall modernization strategy. Laser Stryker is just one part of a much more extensive network of defenses, supplemented by new interceptors, sophisticated sensors, and state-of-the-art radar. The RCCTO is still investigating how all these pieces can be integrated to keep pace with rapidly changing threats on today’s battlefield.
For troops fortunate enough to witness the laser in operation, observing a beam of light quietly destroy a target in the air is pure science fiction. Although directed energy won’t take the place of every weapon in the Army’s inventory, it brings a dominant, low-cost addition to the table. Whether the Laser Stryker becomes a long-term mainstay or a stepping stone to even greater systems, one truth remains—the Army’s strength has always been its ability to adapt, innovate, and stay one step ahead.