According to a new analysis by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, the U.S. should focus on the development of directed energy weapons to counter efforts to restrict the U.S. military’s freedom of movement.
According to a Navy article, “As sophisticated non-state actors and rogue states acquire precision-guided cruise and ballistic missiles, they will pose anti-access/area-denial challenges to the U.S. military. Rather than relying on a limited number of kinetic missile interceptors to meet the threat, the United States should invest in offensive and defensive directed energy weapons, including high-energy lasers and high-power microwave weapons, according to the report.”
The Department of Defense defines directed energy as “a beam of concentrated electromagnetic energy or atomic or subatomic particles” that can “damage or destroy enemy equipment, facilities and personnel.”
