Within Laser Tradeoff
When Area Effects Become a Defense Problem
Microwave area effects can help against clusters, but nearby friendly systems and civilian equipment make discrimination a central risk.
On this page
- Why broader beams complicate discrimination
- Friendly systems and civilian electronics near the fight
- How lasers change the risk tradeoff
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Introduction
High-power microwave weapons are attractive for swarm defence because they can affect multiple drones with a single pulse rather than engaging each target individually. That same advantage creates one of their most difficult operational problems: the energy is intended to influence electronics across a volume of airspace, not just a single point target. In a mixed environment containing friendly aircraft, civilian infrastructure, communications equipment, vehicles, sensors, and people carrying electronic devices, the question is no longer only whether the swarm can be stopped. It is whether the defensive effect can be confined to the intended targets. This discrimination challenge is one of the most important trade-offs between microwave and laser systems in counter-drone operations. [Office of Naval Research]navy.milOffice of Naval Research Directed Energy Weapons: High Power Microwaves Navy DEWs include systems that use high-energy lasers (HEL) thatOffice of Naval ResearchDirected Energy Weapons: High Power MicrowavesNavy DEWs include systems that use high-energy lasers (HEL) that em…
When Wider Beams Create a Targeting Problem
High-power microwave systems are designed around a counter-electronics effect. Rather than burning through an airframe, they attempt to couple electromagnetic energy into antennas, wiring, sensors, processors, or other electronic pathways. Programmes such as the US Air Force Research Laboratory’s THOR have emphasised the ability to defeat multiple drones simultaneously using a comparatively wide engagement area. [Air Force Research Laboratory+2Air University]afrl.af.milAir Force Research Laboratory AFRL conducts swarm technology demonstrationAir Force Research LaboratoryAFRL conducts swarm technology demonstrationMay 16, 2023 — “THOR was exceptionally effective at disabling th…
The operational benefit is obvious when facing dense swarms. However, the same area coverage means that the weapon’s footprint may contain more than hostile drones. Real airspace is crowded with radios, navigation equipment, surveillance sensors, communication links, industrial control systems, and increasingly large numbers of unmanned aircraft performing legitimate functions.
Unlike a laser strike, which is typically directed at a specific point on a selected target, a microwave engagement is concerned with the volume illuminated by the electromagnetic field. The central risk is therefore not simply missing the target. It is affecting additional systems that happen to occupy the same electromagnetic space. Defence analysts have long noted that assessing high-power microwave effects requires understanding not only the source but also how energy couples into surrounding electronics and infrastructure. [dsb.cto.mil]dsb.cto.milThe process to assess the effects of high-powered microwave on a target has to include the full process from power…Read more…
Why Prediction Is Difficult
Microwave effects are often less deterministic than laser damage. The outcome depends on factors such as:
- The target’s shielding and hardening.
- Antenna orientation and wiring layout.
- Frequency and pulse characteristics.
- Distance and angle relative to the emitter.
- The susceptibility of individual electronic components.
As a result, two nearby devices may experience very different outcomes even when exposed to the same pulse. A drone may fail completely while another remains operational, and non-target electronics may react in unexpected ways. This variability complicates confidence in discrimination, especially when friendly and hostile systems are intermingled. [Mobility Engineering Technology+2GAO]mobilityengineeringtech.comUnlike otherMobility Engineering TechnologyHardening Unmanned Aerial Systems Against High-Power…May 1, 2022 — 1 May 2022 — High power microwave we…
Friendly Systems and Civilian Electronics Near the Fight
The mixed-airspace problem becomes most visible around military bases, airports, ports, urban infrastructure, and public events. These are precisely the locations where counter-drone systems are most likely to be deployed.
Counter-drone industry and technical literature frequently notes that high-power microwave systems can interfere with electronic devices beyond the intended drone targets unless the energy is sufficiently directed and controlled. Some systems use specialised antennas to concentrate effects and reduce collateral exposure, but this reduces rather than eliminates the discrimination challenge. [robinradar.com]robinradar.comThe EMP interferes with radio links and…
Several categories of nearby systems are especially sensitive:
Friendly aircraft and drones. Modern aircraft rely heavily on digital avionics, communications, navigation receivers, and mission systems. Even if these systems are hardened to varying degrees, commanders must consider the possibility of electromagnetic interference affecting friendly operations in the engagement area.
Airport infrastructure. Airports contain radar systems, communication networks, navigation aids, security equipment, and ground-service electronics. Counter-drone operations near airports therefore involve unusually complex electromagnetic management considerations.
Emergency services and public safety networks. Police, fire, and medical responders increasingly depend on wireless communications and connected equipment. Any defensive action that creates uncertainty regarding nearby electronics can complicate crisis response.
Civilian digital infrastructure. Industrial facilities, telecommunications equipment, transportation systems, and networked sensors may all be present near likely drone targets. Modern infrastructure contains far more electronics than the military environments in which many early directed-energy concepts were developed.
The challenge is amplified by the rise of shared airspace. Legitimate commercial drones, inspection platforms, delivery systems, and future advanced air mobility aircraft are expected to operate in environments where counter-drone measures may also be required. The distinction between hostile and non-hostile airborne electronics becomes increasingly important as airspace grows more crowded. [arXiv]arxiv.orgInterference Analysis for Coexistence of UAVs and Civil Aircrafts Based on Automatic Dependent Surveillance-BroadcastJune 12, 2024…
Human and Operational Safety Constraints
The discrimination issue is not limited to equipment. Safety planners must also consider exposure zones for personnel and bystanders.
High-power electromagnetic systems are subject to operational restrictions, exclusion areas, and safety analyses intended to ensure that people and equipment are not unintentionally exposed. Recent modelling work on counter-drone microwave systems explicitly includes safety exclusion calculations as part of system design, reflecting the fact that operational effectiveness cannot be separated from safety management. [arXiv]arxiv.orgA Multi-physics Simulation Framework for High-power Microwave Counter-unmanned Aerial System Design and Performance EvaluationFebrua…
For military operators, this means that the most effective firing opportunity against a swarm may not always be the safest opportunity. A drone cluster approaching over an isolated training range presents a different risk picture from the same cluster approaching over an airport perimeter, a logistics hub, or a populated urban area.
This reality creates a paradox. Microwave systems are often most valuable when many targets are grouped together, but those same situations frequently occur near valuable infrastructure that defenders are trying to protect.
How Lasers Change the Risk Trade-Off
The comparison with lasers highlights why mixed-airspace risk is such a defining issue for microwave weapons.
A laser engagement generally concentrates energy on a very small point. The operator selects a target, tracks it, and delivers energy to that specific object. The primary concern is line-of-sight accuracy rather than electromagnetic spillover into nearby electronics. This does not make lasers risk-free, but their effects are usually more geographically confined and easier to associate with a specific target. [Office of Naval Research]navy.milOffice of Naval Research Directed Energy Weapons: High Power Microwaves Navy DEWs include systems that use high-energy lasers (HEL) thatOffice of Naval ResearchDirected Energy Weapons: High Power MicrowavesNavy DEWs include systems that use high-energy lasers (HEL) that em…
Microwave systems reverse that balance:
ConsiderationHigh-power microwavesLasersEngagement styleOne-to-many area effectOne-to-one precision effectSwarm efficiencyPotentially very highLimited by sequential engagementsTarget discriminationMore difficult in mixed environmentsGenerally higherRisk to nearby electronicsCentral planning concernUsually much lowerFriendly-system deconflictionOften complexTypically simpler
This does not mean lasers are automatically preferable. A defender facing dozens of drones may accept increased discrimination challenges because a microwave system can engage the swarm more rapidly. The decision becomes situational: how much collateral electronic risk is acceptable in exchange for greater capacity against clustered threats? [Air Force Research Laboratory+2Breaking Defense]afrl.af.milAir Force Research Laboratory AFRL conducts swarm technology demonstrationAir Force Research LaboratoryAFRL conducts swarm technology demonstrationMay 16, 2023 — “THOR was exceptionally effective at disabling th…
Why Mixed Airspace Remains a Limiting Factor
Much of the public discussion surrounding microwave counter-drone systems focuses on their ability to disable many drones at once. Demonstrations of systems such as THOR have reinforced that appeal by showing effective engagement of swarm-like targets. Air Force Research Laboratory+2Air & Space Forces Magazine [afrl.af.mil]afrl.af.milAir Force Research Laboratory AFRL conducts swarm technology demonstrationAir Force Research LaboratoryAFRL conducts swarm technology demonstrationMay 16, 2023 — “THOR was exceptionally effective at disabling th…
Yet the harder operational question is often what else occupies the engagement zone. Modern battlefields and security environments are dense with friendly electronics, civilian infrastructure, and legitimate aircraft. As microwave systems become more capable, the challenge shifts from generating sufficient power to managing where the effects occur and ensuring that non-target systems remain unaffected.
For this reason, mixed-airspace risk is not a secondary concern but a defining constraint on microwave area-effect weapons. Their greatest strength against swarms—the ability to influence many targets simultaneously—is also the reason commanders must think carefully about discrimination, deconfliction, and collateral electronic effects before employing them. [robinradar.com+2dsb.cto.mil]robinradar.comThe EMP interferes with radio links and…
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Endnotes
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Title: gao 23 106717
Link: https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-23-106717Source snippet
Science & Tech Spotlight: Directed Energy Weapons25 May 2023 — These weapons include high energy lasers and other high power electromagne...
Published: May 2023
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Source: dsb.cto.mil
Link: https://dsb.cto.mil/wp-content/uploads/reports/2000s/ADA476320.pdfSource snippet
The process to assess the effects of high-powered microwave on a target has to include the full process from power...Read more...
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Source: gao.gov
Link: https://www.gao.gov/assets/820/819139.pdfSource snippet
DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPONS DOD Should Focus on...Apr 17, 2023 — DOD officials report that the effects of HPM are. “nearly linear” so tha...
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The EMP interferes with radio links and...
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Source: arxiv.org
Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.08038Source snippet
Interference Analysis for Coexistence of UAVs and Civil Aircrafts Based on Automatic Dependent Surveillance-BroadcastJune 12, 2024...
Published: June 12, 2024
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Source: arxiv.org
Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.08477Source snippet
A Multi-physics Simulation Framework for High-power Microwave Counter-unmanned Aerial System Design and Performance EvaluationFebrua...
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Office of Naval ResearchDirected Energy Weapons: High Power MicrowavesNavy DEWs include systems that use high-energy lasers (HEL) that em...
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Source: afrl.af.mil
Title: Air Force Research Laboratory AFRL conducts swarm technology demonstration
Link: https://www.afrl.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3396995/afrl-conducts-swarm-technology-demonstration/Source snippet
Air Force Research LaboratoryAFRL conducts swarm technology demonstrationMay 16, 2023 — “THOR was exceptionally effective at disabling th...
Published: May 16, 2023
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Source: airuniversity.af.edu
Title: army partners with air forces thor for base defense
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“The system output is powerful radio wave bursts, which offer a greater engagement...Read more...
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A target is identified, the silent weapon discharges in a nanosecond and the impact...Read more...
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Mobility [Engineering]({{ 'engineering/' | relative_url }}) TechnologyHardening Unmanned Aerial Systems Against High-Power...May 1, 2022 — 1 May 2022 — High power microwave we...
Published: May 1, 2022
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Source: breakingdefense.com
Title: high power microwave force field knocks drone swarms from sky
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Working like an EMP weapon, microwaves change the counter-UAS mission from one-...Read more...
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Title: This was the first test of this scale in AFRL history.Read more
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Air & Space Forces MagazineTHOR Hammers Drone Swarm with High-Power MicrowavesMay 19, 2023 — AFRL completed a successful demonstration of...
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Link: https://www.dvidshub.net/video/904340/thor-tactical-high-power-operational-responderSource snippet
Thor - Tactical High-power Operational ResponderTHOR is a high power microwave counter-drone weapon that the Air Force Research Lab has d...
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Source: stripes.com
Title: Air Force Research Laboratory-deployed microwave
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May 22, 2023 — The Tactical High-power Operational Responder, or THOR, a high-powered microwave counter drone weapon, stands ready to dem...
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Additional References
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(PDF) High-Power Microwave Energy as WeaponThis chapter discusses aspects of the technology base and weapon delivery techniques and propo...
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The Strategic Role of High-Power Microwave Directed...Mar 6, 2026 — The paper compares HPM DEWs with high-energy laser (HEL) systems alo...
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Source: dvidshub.net
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AFRL's THOR Tracks and Disables Drone Swarm"Numerous drones were flown to simulate a swarm attack, and using its wide beam, high peak pow...
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Link: https://afresearchlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/AFRL_THOR_FS_0719.pdfSource snippet
COUNTER-SWARM HIGH POWER WEAPONTHOR looks to extend the range to effect and decrease the engagement time over these other deterrent devic...
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Link: https://afresearchlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/AFRL_THOR_FS_0122.pdfSource snippet
COUNTER-SWARM HIGH POWER WEAPONThe system provides non-kinetic defeat of multiple targets. It operates from a wall plug and uses energy t...
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DRDO'S New Microwave Weapon ExplainedDSIAC Webinar: "High-Power, Radio Frequency/Microwave-Directed Energy Weapon Effects". Defense Syste...
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The War ZoneTHOR Microwave Anti-Drone System Downs Swarms In TestMay 19, 2023 — The demonstration pitted the service's high-power microwa...
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Disruption to Destruction Assessing theby K Karcz · Cited by 2 — Furthermore, our research outcomes provide insights into the consequence...
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