According to Bruce Jette, in charge of acquisitions for the US Army, the US Army plans in the near future to acquire 10 Kwh laser weapon system and more, intended to equip its Stryker tanks. If the US Army has already started the deployment of the MEHEL system, a Stryker equipped with a 5 kWh laser, intended mainly to intercept light drones on the battlefield, it has at the same time launched 4 programs aimed at producing systems that are highly more powerful, capable of intercepting not only drones, but also missiles, rockets, shells and aircraft.
According to General James Pasquarette, deputy chief of staff of the US Army, the deployment in units of a laser system with a power of 50 Kwh is planned for 2024, while a prototype for a mobile laser of 100 Kwh , the MultiMission High Energy Laser program, is expected to begin testing in 2022.
Unlike current anti-aircraft or anti-missile defense systems, laser systems have an enhanced capacity to deal with saturation attacks, being by nature not constrained by the number of available munitions. On the other hand, energy production remains a major challenge, to be able to ensure the autonomy and mobility of the systems.