Photonics

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'ATHENA' Laser Cannon Shoots Drones Out of the Sky

In tests conducted with the U.S. Army's Space and Missile Defense Command in August, Lockheed Martin 's Advanced Test High Energy Asset (ATHENA) prototype laser weapon system brought down five unmanned aerial systems. ATHENA employed advanced beam control technology and an efficient fiber laser in this latest series of tests of the prototype system, which took place at the Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.