US Army wants to take down enemy drones with microwave weapons

There is a mix of wonder, awe and fear in the air when talking about drones. And one of the biggest fears is that they will be armed for violent purposes and terrorist acts, such as destroying buildings and killing people. Incidentally, there is a recent case of an alleged attack on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The US Army is already alert about this and intends to use microwave guns to take down small air vehicles.

On Friday (3), the government agency officially announced its intention to buy a high-power microwave system manufactured by Lockheed Martin just to shoot down drones. The gadget would be mounted on an airplane and would target fixed wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and quadcopters.

This "anti-drone system" would use a microwave scheme similar to the solution created by Lockheed Martin for the Air Force. The so-called “High Energy Laser Self Defense Demonstrator” (or “SHIELD”) is used against missiles and won a $ 26 million design award in November 2017.

"The payloads of the unmanned aircraft system we are referring to include explosives, networks, cables and high-power microwave sources, " the request says. More details on this project should appear after August 18, when the proposal deadline expires.

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US Army wants to take down enemy drones with microwave weapons via TecMundo