Could lasers help fend off Iran's cheap drones? | 60 Minutes
In a Nutshell
Iran's cheap Shahed drones ($20,000 each), used in asymmetric warfare, overwhelm expensive US interceptors like Patriots ($4M/shot), prompting development of cost-effective lasers like AeroVironment's $8M Locust system ($3-5/shot), which detects drones up to 7 miles, auto-tracks via AI, and melts them in seconds with a beam director controlled by Xbox-like joystick. Deployed against Shaheds worldwide and now along the US-Mexico border to counter drug-smuggling drones, Locust excels in swarms but faces limits from weather and scaling production. No single solution exists; lasers complement layered defenses amid competition from Lockheed, Raytheon, Israel, and China.
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Asymmetric warfare pits highly sophisticated US interceptor missiles like Patriots and THAADs against Iran's low-tech drones made from materials available at hobby stores. Iranian drone attacks decreased this past week but caused significant damage, including the first American casualties when a drone killed six soldiers in Kuwait. These drones drain US weapon stockpiles and threaten the Strait of Hormuz. Counter-weapons resembling science fiction, such as lasers that zap drones out of the sky, are in development.
Iranian propaganda shows its drone arsenal menacing Gulf States, blasting apartment buildings, airports, and oil refineries. Shahed drones are faster, stronger, operate in swarms, and are cheap—often made of flimsy plastics, costing as low as $20,000 each. US counters with anti-missile interceptors costing millions per shot.
Lasers change the economics of defense against these mass-produced threats. Wahed Nawabi, CEO of AeroVironment (AV), explains:
A Patriot missile battery costs about a billion dollars to procure one system. Each missile costs about $4 million a shot. Compare that to a laser. The cost per shot goes from $4 million a shot to less than $5 a shot. In most cases, about $3 a shot.
The price difference is like buying a mansion versus a cup of coffee.
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