Just under 100 countries have confirmed that they have added a drone based program to their military organizations.  This does not include any drones being used by unconfirmed or unsanctioned military groups.  There is no denying that drones have become a vital tool for any nation’s military strategy.  The United States of America uses 9 different types of armed drones, an estimated total of 10,700 drones.  In response to the growing use of military drones, the United States Government is looking for ways to not only use drones, but to protect assets from enemy drones.

In 2002 the US government first began using the Predator drone.  In 2010 the cost of a single Predator drone was $4.03 million while the entire Predator drone program cost the government well over $2 billion.  Of course the drones being used by the US military are highly advanced and successful tools, but that isn’t stopping groups with a minimal budget from also using drones successfully.  Throughout the Middle East terrorists have been using drones in attacks for sometime now.  These drones they are using are easy to find, some costing less than $100.  Finding ways to combat these enemy drones has been a real challenge.

Earlier this month the Pentagon purchased a weapon that they hope will be able to serve as a counter measure towards individual and swarms of enemy drones.  The $16.28 million purchase was for a prototype of a high power microwave weapons system called PHASER that was built by Raytheon.  Raytheon is an American company that was founded in 1922.  They are “Atechnology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions.”  The PHASER is a defense weapon that will be able to eliminate an enemy drone threat.

The PHASER uses direct energy to attack it’s target.  It emits high powered microwaves that can disable Class One and Two drones under 55lbs, flying between 100 to 200 knots at an altitude of 1,200 to 3,500ft.  The US Air Force has been running experiments with PHASER for a little over a year now.  The tests have been conducted at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.  The results of the test had PHASER taking down 45 drones, some of them in swarms.  When Yemen’s Houthi rebels attacked Saudi Arabia it was with a swarm of around 20 drones.  Representatives from the PHASER program speculated that PHASER may have been able to assist in preventing some of those drones meeting their targets.

As testing for PHASER comes to an end, and the US government has made additional purchases, it is quite possible that this new defensive weapon will be sent overseas to be used on the forefront of battlefields.  Enemy combatants in the Middle East, North Korea, and Africa have been causing devastation with drones.  But the US military now has an means of stopping these drones.