Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Berri: It is our fate every Eid al-Adha to offer sacrifices in defense of Lebanon and its sovereignty, and the aggression will not prevent us from celebrating our holidays
Berri: Our positions must be unifying for all Lebanese in confronting the Israeli aggressiveness, which does not target a specific sect or region, but rather all of Lebanon and the Lebanese, and even Arabs and Muslims in their holiest sanctities
Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon Nabih Berri: Our position regarding the continuous Israeli violation of Lebanon is identical to and adopts the position of the President of the Republic in all national and sovereign dimensions
Israeli raids strike eight residential buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs; shelling reported in Ain Qana, southern Lebanon
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Another Israeli airstrike targets Beirut’s southern suburb
Saree: The operation comes in solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian people and in response to the aggression against Beirut’s southern suburb
Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson: The operation successfully achieved its objective, forcing millions of Israeli settlers to flee into shelters
Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Yahya Saree: We targeted Lod Airport (Ben Gurion Airport) in the occupied Yafa area with a hypersonic ballistic missile, the “Palestine 2” type
Salam: We call on the international community to hold "Israel" accountable, halt its attacks, and ensure full withdrawal from Lebanese territory
Salam: These attacks constitute a blatant violation of Lebanese sovereignty and UN Security Council Resolution 1701

US lagging in directed energy weapons race: US Senator

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 23 Jan 2024 23:08
3 Min Read

National Defense Industrial Association and the Emerging Technologies Institute criticized the Biden administration and the Department of Defense for failing to provide clear direction and leadership for the development of Directed Energy Weapon systems.

  • x
  • Artist’s concept of a HELIOS laser system aboard a US destroyer (Lockheed Martin Image)
    Artist’s concept of a HELIOS laser system aboard a US destroyer (Lockheed Martin Image)

Independent Senator Angus King delivered a stark warning during a US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday, stating that the United States has already lost or is badly losing the race to develop hypersonic and directed energy weapons to its adversaries.

"We are woefully behind on the issue of directed energy," remarked Senator King. "On hypersonics and directed energy, we have lost the race or we are badly losing the race. We have a lot of catching up to do. This should be a hair-on-fire catching-up priority."

Senator King also highlighted the concerning scenario in the Red Sea, where the US Navy is compelled to use multi-million dollar missiles to intercept inexpensive drones launched by Ansar Allah in Yemen, costing less than 1% of the price of the US missile systems.

"The missiles we are using are costing $2 million to $4 million each. That is like using a howitzer to shoot a duck," added Senator King.

In a simultaneous development, a new report from the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) and the Emerging Technologies Institute (ETI) criticized the Biden administration and the Department of Defense for failing to provide clear direction and leadership for the development of Directed Energy Weapon (DEW) systems. The report stated that the lack of guidance hinders the ability of US businesses and industry to produce such weapons in the foreseeable future.

Related News

Bernie Sanders urges US to stop funding Netanyahu's war on Gaza

Violence in Gaza main focus, not that on US colleges : Sanders

"Without a clear and sustained demand signal from DoD, and therefore a return on investment, the industry is hesitant to make the investments necessary to have secure, healthy, and resilient DEW supply chains," noted the report.

The report further accused the Defense Department of wavering in its commitment to fielding DEWs at scale, highlighting that current DEW supply chains are incapable of supporting deployment on a large scale and can only produce small quantities with long lead times.

To address these vulnerabilities, the report recommended a series of concrete steps by the US government, industry, and academia, emphasizing the formidable task ahead in bolstering the nation's capabilities in hypersonic and directed energy technologies.

Read more: Warn, track, target hypersonic threats: Raytheon's new $250mln deal

US falls behind Russia, China hypersonic race

Last year, The National Interest highlighted the weakness of the US in developing offensive hypersonic weapons, as well as in confronting them.

According to the outlet, the United States urgently needs to develop and deploy both offensive and defensive hypersonic weapons capabilities, because it is falling behind as China and Russia have both tested and deployed hypersonic missiles, while the United States is conducting its first successful hypersonic missile test in December 2022.

However, the US has not deployed any hypersonic weapons to date, and the existing US missile defense systems are not yet capable of shooting down adversaries' hypersonic weapons, leaving the US highly vulnerable at this time, NI wrote.

  • US Senator
  • US
  • Department of Defense
  • Hypersonic Missile
War on Gaza

War on Gaza

Most Read

Lebanon's PM Nawaf Salam meets with US envoy Morgan Ortagus in Beirut on April 5, 2025 (Dalati Nohra via AP)AP)

Morgan Ortagus to exit US role in Lebanon amid policy shift

  • Politics
  • 1 Jun 2025
It may well be due to the longstanding relationship between MI6 and HTS, via Inter Mediate, that Britain was the first Western country to recognise their assumption of government in Syria. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab El-Hajj)

How MI6 helped HTS seize Syria

  • Opinion
  • 31 May 2025
A Palestinian woman mourns as she embraces the body of her daughter Mayar Abu Odeh, 8, who was killed in an Israeli army strike on Gaza. at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (AP)

French port workers block arms shipment to 'Israel' amid Gaza genocide

  • Politics
  • 4 Jun 2025
Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, June 2, 2025. (AP)

Boston Consulting Group withdraws from GHF

  • Palestine
  • 3 Jun 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Poll
Palestine

Sharp decline in international perception of 'Israel', Netanyahu: Poll

Ukrainian soldiers with the anti-drone KVS G-6, manufactured by Kvertus Technology.Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine/Facebook
US & Canada

Shift in US priorities: Drone fuzes reallocated from Kiev to CENTCOM

US Jews accuse Trump of antisemitism despite his pro-'Israel' stance
US & Canada

US Jews accuse Trump of antisemitism despite his pro-'Israel' stance

Former US President Joe Biden speaks from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Sept. 30, 2024 (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
US & Canada

Trump orders investigation into Biden’s autopen use, cognitive fitness

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS