Polski
Drone Swarms and Lasers: The US Tests a New Generation of Air Defense
September 2026 brought two strong signals from the US about where counter-drone defense is heading: multi-layered integration of sensors and artificial intelligence, and the first large-scale tests of directed-energy weapons at permanent military installations. We take a closer look at what exactly happened at the training ground in Fort Bragg and at five US bases – and why it matters for the Polish counter-drone systems market as well.
01 · Counter-Drone Defense
Fort Bragg: when 100 drones fill the sky at once
Between September 11 and 17, Fort Bragg hosted the Scarlet Dragon 26-3 exercise, during which the US Army tested how to defend command posts, logistics hubs, and air defense systems against a coordinated attack by up to one hundred small drones at once [1]. This is a scale that until recently existed mainly in simulations – this time, soldiers, military systems, and technologies supplied by the defense industry were brought together in a single, realistic test environment.
The conclusion from the exercise is unambiguous: no single sensor and no single effector can handle a swarm of this size [1]. What's needed is a network in which radars, artificial intelligence analyzing data in real time, electronic warfare, and kinetic weapons work together, compensating for each other's weaknesses. This confirms a trend that is being talked about increasingly loudly in Europe as well – single "silver bullets" are giving way to integrated C-UAS ecosystems, where the speed of data fusion matters more than the number of kills.
02 · Directed-Energy Weapons
Lasers and microwaves enter service at five bases
A day earlier, on September 9, the US Department of War announced the launch of a year-long test program run by Joint Interagency Task Force 401 [2]. A pilot program for directed-energy weapons – lasers and high-power microwaves – is now underway at five military bases as tools for neutralizing drones. Unlike earlier demonstration showcases, the goal of this program is very practical: to check the equipment's reliability in day-to-day operation, its real maintenance costs, and how well these systems integrate with the bases' existing defense infrastructure [2].
This marks an important shift from previous tests – the Army is no longer asking "can a laser shoot down a drone," but "can a laser withstand a year of watch duty without costly breakdowns." If the results are positive, directed energy stands a chance of moving from the experimental stage to becoming permanent base equipment, complementing classic missiles and programmable ammunition – solutions that are tested and developed on a daily basis in Poland too, for instance in the context of SAN-type systems.
Summary
Summary
Both events from Fort Bragg and the US bases show the same trend from two different angles: the future of counter-drone defense is not a single device, but an integrated, multi-layered system – from AI and electronic warfare to directed-energy weapons, now being tested under conditions close to combat. For the industry, this means one thing: anyone designing sensors, effectors, or C-UAS software today must think in terms of interoperability, not isolated products.
These are exactly the kinds of solutions – sensor integration, AI, electronic warfare, and new weapon systems – that we'll be discussing at Warsaw Security & Defence Expo. Join us to take part and exchange experience with representatives of the defense industry, unmanned systems, and cybersecurity!
Invitation
Drone swarms, artificial intelligence, and combat lasers are no longer science fiction – they're the everyday reality of military testing, and topics we want to discuss together with you. Join exhibitors and experts in C-UAS systems and counter-drone technology at Warsaw Security & Defence Expo. See live the solutions that could reach European bases within just a few years.
Warsaw Security & Defence Expo 2026Footnotes
[1] Army Recognition — https://www.armyrecognition.com/news/army-news/2026/u-s-army-tests-ai-and-electronic-warfare-to-stop-100-drone-swarms-from-overwhelming-battlefield-defenses[2] Army Recognition — https://www.armyrecognition.com/news/army-news/2026/u-s-begins-yearlong-directed-energy-counter-drone-trials-across-five-military-bases