Don’t expect directed energy weapons to suddenly transform America’s way of war anytime soon, said Frank Kendall, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics. “Directed energy is one of those technologies that’s always five years away, no matter how many years go by,” Kendall said Wednesday during a meeting with defense writers in Washington, D.C. That comment “isn’t entirely facetious,” he said. “In the 1980s, I was doing missile defense work for the Army, and at that time, we were talking about directed energy being a few years away,” he noted. While there have been “great advances” in DE technology, “there are still some steps to be taken before we have practical weapons,” said Kendall.
From missile warning to satellite communications for drones, the Space Force has played a key, if often unseen, role in the U.S. conflict with Iran, the head of the service’s Combat Forces Command said July 17. And one area in particular has seen Guardians be especially active: the electromagnetic spectrum.