Pentagon Selects Five Sites for Directed-Energy Counter-Drone Pilot

The U.S. Department of Defense announced on May 6, 2026, that the Joint Interagency Task Force 401 has selected five installations to participate in the directed-energy counter-unmanned aircraft systems pilot program established in the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act.

The program will equip the five sites with directed-energy weapons capable of neutralizing drone threats. Per the CENTCOM release, the selections represent the initial tranche of a broader initiative to integrate laser and high-power microwave systems into base defense.

The NDAA provision allocated funding specifically for this pilot, though exact per-site dollar figures were not disclosed in the announcement.

The pilot shifts the prior state in which counter-drone efforts at U.S. installations relied primarily on kinetic systems such as Coyote interceptors and 40 mm guns. The new state introduces fixed directed-energy platforms that can engage multiple low-cost unmanned aircraft at ranges up to several kilometers with minimal marginal cost per shot.

Testing at the five chosen locations begins in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Downstream, the services must now supply operational data from the pilot sites to inform decisions on wider deployment across additional installations. Congress will receive a formal assessment of system performance no later than 18 months after initial testing, triggering potential follow-on procurement decisions in the Fiscal Year 2028 budget cycle.

The results will also shape requirements for integration with existing command-and-control networks used by air defense units.

This pilot follows congressional direction in the Fiscal Year 2025 NDAA that required the department to accelerate fielding of directed-energy counter-UAS capabilities. The 2026 language built on that foundation by mandating a formal test program at multiple sites rather than limiting efforts to laboratory demonstrations.