The US Navy is firing a $5-per-shot laser from the deck of an aircraft carrier for the first time in history and is shooting down 100% of target drones.

Written by Douglas Avila

Published on 11/05/2026 at 19:04

Updated on 11/05/2026 at 19:05

Be the first to react!

On October 5, 2025, the United States Navy positioned a containerized aircraft carrier anti-drone laser system on the deck of the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), in the Atlantic, and fired at multiple drones in sequence.

According to Naval News, the test was only revealed on April 21, 2026, and shot down all targets. This marks the first time a direct energy weapon has been mounted and fired from the deck of an American aircraft carrier.

The system used, called LOCUST, is manufactured by AeroVironment, which acquired BlueHalo for US$4.1 billion in 2025 to consolidate the technology. Each shot costs between US$1 and US$5 in electricity, compared to US$2.1 million for an SM-2 interceptor missile.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

See also

The test figures, released by the US Navy and the manufacturer, tell the story in five points:

100% success rate in neutralizing target drones
20 to 26 kW operational beam power
US$1 to US$5 cost per shot (electricity)
Roll-on, roll-off: the system entered and exited the ship without any structural modification
5 American bases already confirmed to receive LOCUST in 2026

LOCUST Container on the deck of the USS George H.W. Bush during test on October 5, 2025 — The containerized LOCUST system positioned on the deck of the USS George H.W. Bush during the historic test on October 5, 2025. Photo: AeroVironment / US Navy.

The aircraft carrier anti-drone laser in action on the USS Bush’s deck

According to AeroVironment, LOCUST arrived on the aircraft carrier in a single standard container. It was then secured to the deck with common platform straps and connected directly to the ship’s electrical grid.

The

0 Comments

most recent

older Most voted

The US Navy is firing a $5-per-shot laser from the deck of an aircraft carrier for the first time in history and is shooting down 100% of target drones.

The aircraft carrier anti-drone laser in action on the USS Bush’s deck

The end of Nokia: the brand that was the cellphone of an entire generation has ended its smartphones, left Brazil, and today survives only in basic phones in India while seeking a new partner.

Dissatisfied with seeing people sleeping on the street, a man named Ryan Donais started building small mobile homes so that homeless people can escape the cold, each equipped with a bed, running water, electricity, and heating.

Cambodia has started digging a nearly 180-kilometer canal to connect the Mekong River directly to the sea and reduce its dependence on the ports of neighboring Vietnam.

China has put millions of electric cars on the roads, but now faces the side effect: more than 1 million tons of batteries are expected to go out of use per year by 2030, while the government expands tracking and combats illegal dismantling with environmental risks.

An Indonesian fisherman pulls a mysterious object from the sea and discovers that it is a Chinese underwater monitoring system, part of the so-called Underwater Great Wall that Beijing uses to track submarines and unmanned vehicles in strategic straits of the region.

Couple leaves traditional jobs, bets on a rare business, creates a frog farm with 100,000 giant frogs in 108 pens in the far west of Santa Catarina and is already projecting growth.

To shorten a crossing that is currently done by sea from five hours to half an hour, the Philippines is building a 32-kilometer bridge over the water connecting the provinces of Bataan and Cavite.

A cannibal coronal mass ejection, formed by the fusion of two solar plasma clouds, hit Earth in the early hours of June 5, 2026, but with a weaker impact than expected, causing a moderate to strong geomagnetic storm instead of the severe one anticipated.

The village that stores rice for 100 years without selling a single grain: Indonesian community transforms food into sacred heritage, keeps barns untouched for generations, and reveals an ancestral tradition created to face hunger, crisis, and an uncertain future.

One of the happiest countries in the world goes on population alert: Switzerland returns to the top 10, tries to cap the population at 10 million inhabitants, and faces expensive rent, migratory pressure, infrastructure at its limit, and the risk of conflict with the European Union.

Brazil could be short of 235,000 teachers by 2040: young people are abandoning teaching degrees, the number of teachers aged up to 24 has dropped by 42%, and schools are already facing difficulties in finding professionals for strategic subjects.

Northern Hemisphere sky begins to display rare, luminous, and almost space-like noctilucent clouds, as photographers capture mysterious glow after sunset.

The US Navy is firing a $5-per-shot laser from the deck of an aircraft carrier for the first time in history and is shooting down 100% of target drones.

The aircraft carrier anti-drone laser in action on the USS Bush’s deck

The end of Nokia: the brand that was the cellphone of an entire generation has ended its smartphones, left Brazil, and today survives only in basic phones in India while seeking a new partner.

Dissatisfied with seeing people sleeping on the street, a man named Ryan Donais started building small mobile homes so that homeless people can escape the cold, each equipped with a bed, running water, electricity, and heating.

Cambodia has started digging a nearly 180-kilometer canal to connect the Mekong River directly to the sea and reduce its dependence on the ports of neighboring Vietnam.

China has put millions of electric cars on the roads, but now faces the side effect: more than 1 million tons of batteries are expected to go out of use per year by 2030, while the government expands tracking and combats illegal dismantling with environmental risks.

An Indonesian fisherman pulls a mysterious object from the sea and discovers that it is a Chinese underwater monitoring system, part of the so-called Underwater Great Wall that Beijing uses to track submarines and unmanned vehicles in strategic straits of the region.

Couple leaves traditional jobs, bets on a rare business, creates a frog farm with 100,000 giant frogs in 108 pens in the far west of Santa Catarina and is already projecting growth.

To shorten a crossing that is currently done by sea from five hours to half an hour, the Philippines is building a 32-kilometer bridge over the water connecting the provinces of Bataan and Cavite.

UK intelligence issues strong warning: Russia may attack NATO soon amid escalation of drones on the eastern European flank and urges the alliance to invest in defense.

The “naval Batmobile” with 5 hulls that the US Navy tested in shallow waters: M80 Stiletto had a pentamaran shape, 88 feet in length, a draft of only 2.5 feet, and a speed above 50 knots to prove a new generation of stealth littoral vessels.

Brazil wants to boost its firepower and is negotiating for 20 more Gripen fighters to bring the Air Force fleet to 56 aircraft, a race against time in the face of a squadron that is getting older, more expensive, and harder to maintain each year.

The “naval UFO” with four submerged hulls that Lockheed Martin launched into the sea: Sea Slice was 105 feet long, 55 feet wide, and had a SWATH hull so strange that it seemed to float on invisible legs to challenge the waves and reinvent ship stability.

Russian nuclear submarine Arkhangelsk fires supersonic missile underwater in the Barents Sea and hits target over 200 km away during Northern Fleet exercise.

A cannibal coronal mass ejection, formed by the fusion of two solar plasma clouds, hit Earth in the early hours of June 5, 2026, but with a weaker impact than expected, causing a moderate to strong geomagnetic storm instead of the severe one anticipated.

The village that stores rice for 100 years without selling a single grain: Indonesian community transforms food into sacred heritage, keeps barns untouched for generations, and reveals an ancestral tradition created to face hunger, crisis, and an uncertain future.

One of the happiest countries in the world goes on population alert: Switzerland returns to the top 10, tries to cap the population at 10 million inhabitants, and faces expensive rent, migratory pressure, infrastructure at its limit, and the risk of conflict with the European Union.

Brazil could be short of 235,000 teachers by 2040: young people are abandoning teaching degrees, the number of teachers aged up to 24 has dropped by 42%, and schools are already facing difficulties in finding professionals for strategic subjects.

Northern Hemisphere sky begins to display rare, luminous, and almost space-like noctilucent clouds, as photographers capture mysterious glow after sunset.