Directed energy weapons
Laser weapons are being delivered but are not yet in full use. Israel's Iron Beam was delivered in December 2025 and was still not in full operational use eight months later. China has shown its LY-1 laser on navy ships and is reported to have sold the smaller Silent Hunter to Saudi Arabia, but neither has independently confirmed combat results. Power supply and weather still limit how many shots a laser can fire.
Research snapshot · updated Nov 10, 2026
State of the art (2026)
Directed energy crossed from demonstrator to fielded weapon in late 2025. On 28 December 2025 Rafael delivered the first operational Iron Beam (100 kW) high-power laser to the IDF, making Israel the first country to field a laser for intercepting rockets, mortars and drones alongside Iron Dome. The UK followed: a 316M MBDA UK contract in November 2025 accelerated DragonFire (50 kW) towards deployment on Royal Navy Type 45 destroyers by 2027. The US Navys 60 kW HELIOS on USS Preble downed four drones in an at-sea demonstration disclosed in January 2026 but remains developmental. High-power microwave for counter-swarm matured in parallel, with Epirus winning a 43.5M US Army RCCTO award in July 2025 for two Gen II Leonidas systems. Power, thermal management and atmospheric attenuation in rain and dust remain the unsolved limits.
Core thesis
A single Patriot interceptor costs roughly $4M; a laser shot costs a few dollars. That economics finally reached the field: Israel's Iron Beam (Rafael, ~100 kW) was delivered operational to the IDF in December 2025, the first laser to intercept rockets, mortars and drones in service. The US Navy's 60 kW HELIOS on USS Preble downed four drones at sea in early 2026 but stays an R&D asset, and the UK's DragonFire heads for Royal Navy Type 45 destroyers. The unsolved limits remain power generation, thermal management and atmospheric attenuation from rain, dust and smoke, plus single-target dwell. Ideal for drone-swarm defence.
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Signal stack
Evidence stacked leading → lagging
8 signals
Signal stack
Evidence stacked leading → lagging
Technology-native KPIs
Metrics that predict trajectory, tracked over time
4 tracked
Technology-native KPIs
Metrics that predict trajectory, tracked over time
Landscape map
Who builds what, and who depends on whom
126 players · 6 layers
Landscape map
Who builds what, and who depends on whom
Catalyst calendar
Dated events that will move the position
3 ahead
Catalyst calendar
Dated events that will move the position
Technology roadmap
Milestones on the path to maturity
7 milestones
Technology roadmap
Milestones on the path to maturity
Watchlists
Companies, people and papers, each with a condition for removing it
20 · 20
Watchlists
Companies, people and papers, each with a condition for removing it
Decision frameworks
What our view means for your job
Locked
Decision frameworks
What our view means for your job
Thesis changelog
When our view changed, and why
7 updates
Thesis changelog
When our view changed, and why
Change our mind
3 disconfirming conditions
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The full signal stack, technology-native KPIs tracked over time, the landscape of who depends on whom, the dated catalyst calendar, decision frameworks for every desk, live watchlists and a record of every time our view on Directed energy weapons has changed. All of it is in CanaryIQ.