WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- American forces are using infrared lasers against Iranian drones, cruise missiles, weapons, and equipment in the Strait of Hormuz and inside Iran.
- The Department of War says lasers can destroy threats at a lower cost than expensive kinetic weapons such as missiles.
- Soldiers operate the laser systems with reconfigured Xbox controllers, making the controls familiar and intuitive for younger personnel.
- The 50 year American laser program has moved from experimentation into operational use against real targets.
Technology remains a tremendous force multiplier, and American forces are demonstrating that principle once again against Iran.
The lesson became highly visible during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, one of the first widely publicized mass uses of smart weapons.
Today, high tech American weapons are operating in the Strait of Hormuz and inside Iran itself.
Powerful infrared lasers are targeting Iranian weapons and equipment, giving Tehran another painful lesson about the military it chose to confront.
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The American effort to harness laser power has been underway for 50 years.
The resulting capability exceeds that of any other military on Earth.
The Department of War recently confirmed that the military has deployed lasers in the Strait of Hormuz to destroy regime hardware.
The systems are taking out “drones and incoming cruise missiles at a much lower cost than using more expensive kinetic weapons like missiles,” according to the confirmation.
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That cost difference matters because logistics has decided wars throughout history.
In a modern conflict, logistics includes producing ammunition and munitions, packing them, and delivering them to the place where American forces need them.
The current conflict has consumed munitions at a considerable pace.
A laser, however, requires a sufficiently large power source rather than a fresh missile for every shot, and United States Navy vessels can provide that power.
Laser systems also strike at the speed of light.
The assessment suggests they have a considerably lower firing signature than a gunshot or missile launch, creating still more headaches for what remains of Iran’s armed forces.
Mark Neice, president of Directed Energy Consultants, which works with the military, described the precision available to American operators.
The technology allows forces to focus the laser on a specific part of an approaching threat.
“We can very specifically track and target drones and put the spot exactly where we want it, [in order] to disable its sensors or kill [i.e. explode] the drone itself,” Neice told The Post.
That gives operators options when engaging hostile drones.
They can direct the beam toward sensors to disable the aircraft or place it where the energy can cause the drone itself to explode.
The controls behind this advanced weaponry offer an unexpected twist.
Soldiers operate the laser weapons using reconfigured Xbox game console controllers, pairing formidable military technology with hardware familiar to generations raised on video games.
The video game industry had already spent years determining what worked best in a handheld controller.
Rather than inventing a specialized system from scratch, the military adopted an Xbox controller or something highly similar for the job.
NEW: The U.S. is using Xbox video game controllers to control infrared lasers to dismantle Iranian infrastructure, according to the New York Post.
“If you’ve shot a Spartan laser in Halo, you can probably fire [one of the cutting-edge weapons] in real life.”
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That approach can make the laser systems more intuitive, particularly for younger soldiers who grew up using those controllers.
The practical benefits of that familiarity are already visible in how the systems are operated.
Even the Secretary of War has received training on the laser systems.
That detail further illustrates how the technology has moved beyond experimentation and into practical military use against genuine threats.
The Pentagon and military contractors have experimented with laser weapons for some time, so the underlying idea is not brand new.
What has changed is that American forces are now using the systems in the field against real targets.
The Department of War says the lasers are working effectively against drones and incoming cruise missiles.
Initial indications suggest the weapons are delivering the desired results under combat conditions.
Iran appears poorly positioned to develop a quick answer, given what remains of its infrastructure.
The lasers therefore present another challenge for Iranian forces already dealing with American military capabilities they cannot easily match.
Russia and China are surely watching the results and working on counterparts of their own.
For the moment, however, the active conflict is with Iran, and American laser systems are proving their value where it counts.
This is no longer merely a laboratory project or a contractor demonstration.
American forces are using powerful lasers against Iranian hardware, while a familiar game controller helps soldiers direct weapons that strike at the speed of light.
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