
The U.S. Air Force plans to conduct an experiment in fiscal year 2018 using directed energy weapons to counter small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).The experiment will seek to determine whether high-energy lasers and high-power microwaves could help in such ways as protecting military bases in combat zones, the Air Force announced late Sept. 26. Directed-energy proponents say such weapons could provide more precision and less collateral damage than traditional weapons.The Air Force Research Laboratory recently released a request for information…