US Special Operations Command is currently testing a laser weapon system and hopes to have “a layout of proof of concept” completed within “months to maybe a year,” Lt. Gen. Brad Webb, chief of Air Force Special Operations Command, told reporters at AWS17 on Thursday. He said the system is “SOCOM’s No. 1 unfunded priority” and that he remains “a strong supporter,” but the slow development of the program was understandable given the “scar tissue from programs from the past” that sought to develop directed energy weapons systems. He said the system in development is an “offensive capability” with “very different technology” from previous attempts. One purpose of the ongoing testing, Webb said, is to determine which aircraft would deploy the system, how it would be mounted, and whether current weapons would need to be eliminated from certain airframes to make room for it. Webb said the program is a “joint government and industry project” and that “there are massive supporters within our government of the program.”
Seven F-22 Raptor pilots have recently been awarded one of the military’s highest decorations for their actions during operations in the Middle East. Six of the pilots were decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross for their role in Operation Midnight Hammer, the June 2025 strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.