Past DOD programs, such as the U.S. Air Force's Airborne laser (ABL) program and the Reagan-era Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), and current programs, such as the U.S. Navy's Laser Weapon System (LaWS), have been subject to rigorous congressional oversight. With a number of U.S. Army weapons-related DE programs showing promise during concept demonstrations and their potential relevance in addressing a number of current and emerging threats to U.S. ground forces, congressional oversight could focus on programmatic developments and timelines as well as related authorization and appropriations issues. What Are DE Weapons? These weapons will likely have little effect on the international environment for that very reason. Selected Current Army DE Initiatives

The Army has a variety of weapons-related DE initiatives underway. Overview of Selected Foreign DE Weapons Efforts

Other nations are developing DE weapons for a variety of applications. Potential Issues for Congress

		What Progress Has Been Made on Army Weapons-Related HPM Programs? How Do U.S. Army DE Efforts Compare to Our Allies and Potential Adversaries? How will potential adversary DE weapon systems affect U.S. Army modernization including the need for additional resources? How Close Is the Army to Fielding Operational DE Weapon Systems? How Practical Are These Systems Given Their Constraints? Other challenges include the potential susceptibility of DE systems to relatively simple or inexpensive countermeasures as well as how to prevent collateral damage to U.S. systems when certain types of DE weapons are employed against enemy targets. What Are the Estimates of Resources Needed to Fund the Army's Full Suite of DE Systems? With Army weapons-related DE efforts progressing toward becoming programs of record, there is an expectation that they could potentially play a role in future force protection, counter rocket, artillery, and mortar (C-RAM), and short-ranged air defense (SHORAD) operations. (A) IN GENERAL. The Secretary of Defense, acting through the Under Secretary, shall establish a program on the prototyping and demonstration of directed energy weapon systems to build and maintain the military superiority of the United States by:
(A) accelerating, when feasible, the fielding of directed energy weapon prototypes that would help counter technological advantages of potential adversaries of the United States; and (B) supporting the military departments, the combatant commanders, and other relevant defense agencies and entities in developing prototypes and demonstrating operational utility of high energy lasers and high powered microwave weapon systems. HEL weapons effects are extremely precise.
The U.S. military has a long and complicated history in developing directed energy (DE) weapons. Many past efforts have failed for a variety of reasons and not all failures were attributed to scientific or technological challenges associated with weaponizing DE. At present, a number of U.S. military DE weapons-related programs are beginning to show promise, such as the Navy's Laser Weapon System (LaWs), the first ever Department of Defense (DOD) laser weapon to be deployed and approved for operational use, according to the Navy. With a number of U.S. Army weapons-related DE programs showing promise during concept demonstrations and their potential relevance in addressing a number of current and emerging threats to U.S. ground forces, some believe the Army is making progress to field viable DE weapon systems designed to counter rockets, artillery, and mortars (C-RAM) and address certain types of short-range air defense (SHORAD) threats.
While DE weapons offer a variety of advantages over conventional kinetic weapons including precision, low cost per shot, and scalable effects, there are also some basic constraints, such as beam attenuation, limited range, and an inability to be employed against non-line-of-sight targets, that will need to be addressed in order to make these weapons effective across the entire spectrum of combat operations.
DE weapon system development raises a number of national security and international relations implications associated with DE weapons as well as international law concerns that must also be taken into account. By no means does the United States enjoy a monopoly on DE weapons development, and potential adversaries such as Russia and China, as well as allies such as Israel, have well-established DE weapons programs that, in some cases, might be on par with or even surpass current U.S. DE weapons development programs, presenting additional national security concerns to U.S. policymakers.
Potential issues for Congress include the following:
What progress has been made on Army weapons-related high powered microwave (HPM) programs? How do U.S. Army DE efforts compare to our allies and potential adversaries? How close is the Army to fielding operational DE weapon systems? How practical are these systems given their constraints? How will the Army's new Modernization Command affect the management of weapons-related DE programs? What are the estimates of resources needed to fund the Army's full suite of DE systems?