The USS Ronald Reagan arrives at Naval Base Kitsap, Wash., in August 2024. The base, home to Nimitz-class carriers and nuclear-powered submarines, is one of five chosen for a pilot program to use directed-energy weapons to knock down drones illegally flying over installations. (Gary Warner/Stars and Stripes)
Lasers, microwaves and other directed-energy weapons systems will be deployed to defend against illegal drone flights around five military bases under a Pentagon pilot program announced Thursday.
The bases chosen, according to a statement from Joint Interagency Task Force 401, are:
One Navy base: Naval Base Kitsap, Wash.
Two Army bases: Fort Bliss, Texas; and Fort Huachuca, Ariz.
Two Air Force bases: Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D.; and Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo.
The task force was created in 2025 to consolidate efforts to defend U.S. facilities against drones. Based at the Pentagon and run by the Army, the task force also works with the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration and federal law enforcement agencies.
“Countering unlawful and adversarial drone activity is a homeland defense imperative,” said Army Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, Task Force 401 director. “There is no ‘silver bullet’ to address this challenge, and this pilot program integrates cutting-edge technology into the department’s broader counterdrone toolkit.”
U.S. Northern Command, which oversees most domestic military bases, said in October that drone incursions over installation airspace happen almost daily.
“There were 350 detections reported last year on military installations, and that was 350 over a total of 100 different installations of all types and levels of security,” Gen. Gregory Guillot, the NORTHCOM commander, told Congress during a February 2025 hearing.
The bases were selected to allow for testing and assessment of different weapons at a cross-section of installations that have different environments and roles.
The task force said that, within 180 days, it wants to have devices at the bases selected for the pilot program.
The counterdrone devices could include high-energy lasers and high-powered microwave systems, the task force said. Multiple systems could be employed for a “layered defense.”
“The technology enables service members to disrupt and defeat unlawful or adversarial drone activity while minimizing risk to surrounding personnel and infrastructure,” the statement said.
Tests at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico and operational use of systems along the border with Mexico have shown that antidrone systems can be used without posing “an undue risk to passenger aircraft.”
“We showed that directed-energy systems can counter drone threats while preserving the safety of air travelers,” said Army Col. Scott McLellan, deputy director of the task force.
