Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth witnessed a live demonstration of high-energy laser and high-power microwave weapons at the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on Tuesday. It marks the first publicly known instance of a sitting U.S. defense secretary personally observing a directed energy weapon firing.
Attendees included Hegseth and Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Emil Michael. According to sources familiar with the event, participating systems included the A—a directed energy weapon platform. The Office of the Secretary of Defense declined to comment on the record.
“We have dramatically increased investment in scaling directed energy technologies, signaling to our manufacturing partners that the War Department is focused on delivering rapid solutions to the warfighter,” Michael said in a statement. “We are directly tackling manufacturability, reliability and integration—areas that have challenged transition under previous administrations.”
The demonstration signals an intensified push by the Pentagon to move directed energy weapons from lab testing into field-ready systems. Laser and microwave weapons have long been touted as cost-effective counters to drones and missiles, but technical hurdles around power, heat management, and mass production have slowed deployment.
Critics note that while leadership attention may accelerate funding, past directed energy programs have repeatedly fallen short of operational promises. Without detailed public data on system performance at White Sands, it remains unclear whether this demo represents a genuine breakthrough or another high-profile showcase of immature technology.