Pentagon selects Firefly to protect military bases from drones — Defense News

The Pentagon has selected KBR’s mobile Firefly laser system for a pilot program to protect military bases in the United States from hostile drones. Over the course of a year, service members will operate and maintain directed-energy systems and collect data to assess costs and logistics, Defense News reports.

A laser instead of missiles

Firefly was developed by Kord Technologies, a KBR subsidiary. The system uses a concentrated laser beam to engage targets, which could potentially be a cheaper way to counter small drones than using expensive interceptor missiles.

The company positions Firefly as a mobile palletized laser. According to the company, the system can operate at temperatures from minus 15 to plus 35 degrees Celsius. During an August demonstration in Alabama, company representatives said that the truck-mounted version can shoot down a small drone within seconds.

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The final decision rests with the operator

A radar detects a potential threat and sends a signal to an operator, who verifies the target using cameras. Software can generate a target list, and an automated system tracks the object, but a human makes the decision to open fire and determines the point of impact.

KBR senior director David Zoller Jr. noted that an Xbox controller is used to operate the system, which may reduce operator training time. The laser can be aimed at individual parts of a drone, including the propeller, engine, or fuel tank. At the same time, Firefly can engage only one target at a time, so during a drone swarm attack operators will have to prioritize threats.