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THOR Defeats Swarm of Drones in AFRL Test Last Month, Lab Says

THOR Defeats Swarm of Drones in AFRL Test Last Month, Lab Says
Pictured is the Tactical High-power Operational Responder, or THOR, a high-powered microwave counter drone weapon, before an Apr. 5, 2023 test at Kirtland AFB, N.M. (U.S. Air Force Photo)

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory said that its directed energy directorate at Kirtland AFB, N.M., used the high-power microwave Tactical High-power Operational Responder (THOR) system to shoot down drones in a test at the Chestnut Test Site at Kirtland. BAE Systems, Albuquerque-based Verus Research, and Boise-based Black Sage developed THOR, which uses intense radio frequency waves to disable small drones quickly. Pentagon officials have said that U.S. and allied bases present ready targets for attacks by swarms of small, inexpensive, "kamikaze"…

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