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The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military.
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The Boeing YAL-1 airborne laser testbed was a modified Boeing 747-400F with a megawatt-class chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL) mounted inside. It was primarily designed to test its feasibility as a missile defense system to destroy tactical ballistic missiles (TBMs) while in boost phase. The aircraft was designated YAL-1A in 2004 by the U.S. Department of Defense.
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The Kratos XQ-58 Valkyrie is an experimental stealthy unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) designed and built by Kratos Defense & Security Solutions for the United States Air Force's Low Cost Attritable Strike Demonstrator (LCASD) program, under the USAF Research Laboratory's Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology (LCAAT) project portfolio. It was initially designated the XQ-222. The Valkyrie completed its first flight on 5 March 2019 at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona.
The Multi-Mission Launcher (MML) is an open-systems architecture multi-role missile launching system created by the United States Army's Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center.
The Leonidas is a high-power microwave (HPM) weapon developed to disable unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarms. It was named after Leonidas of Epirus.
The Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon (RFDEW) is a British directed-energy weapon and electronic warfare (EW) system currently under development for the British Armed Forces. It is a joint project of the UK Ministry of Defence's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and Defence Equipment & Support agencies, working in conjunction with industry partners. It was first unveiled publicly on 16 May 2024 and was developed under Project Hersa.
References
- ↑ Air Force's Mjölnir? Service Testing THOR Anti-Drone System. Military.com . 25 April 2019.
- ↑ Troops To Test AFRL’s THOR Drone Killer This Fall. Breaking Defense. 4 August 2020.
- ↑ Air Force's THOR Microwave Weapon Instantly Ends Enemy Drone Attack in New Video. Military.com . 21 June 2021.
- 1 2 Killing drones with Thor’s hammer: Air Force eyes counter-UAS ‘Mjölnir’ weapon. Defense News . 28 February 2022.
- ↑ The Air Force used microwave energy to take down a drone swarm. Popular Science . 23 May 2023.
- ↑ The US Air Force has a new weapon called THOR that can take out swarms of drones. The Verge . 21 June 2019.
- 1 2 THOR microwave weapon hammers drone swarms in demo test. New Atlas. 28 May 2023.
- 1 2 THOR Microwave Anti-Drone System Downs Swarms In Test. The War Zone. 19 May 2023.
- ↑ THOR: Air Force Tests Counter-Drone Microwave In Africa. Breaking Defense. 17 December 2020.
- ↑ AF Says Lasers Are Being Field Tested, But NOT THOR Or Other Microwave Weapon. Breaking Defense. 22 December 2020.
- ↑ AFRL Looking for Contractors to Build Anti-UAS High-Powered Microwave. Air & Space Forces Magazine. 30 July 2021.
- ↑ AFRL conducts swarm technology demonstration. Air Force Research Laboratory . 16 May 2023.
- ↑ THOR Hammers Drone Swarm with High-Power Microwaves. Air & Space Forces Magazine. 19 May 2023.