![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() “Mjölnir will focus on creating a detailed blueprint for all future systems with enhanced range and technology for detecting and tracking” drones. “Because THOR was so successful, we wanted to keep the new system’s name in the family,” said Adrian Lucero, THOR program manager from AFRL’s directed energy directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. Those efforts have paid off, leading to the next step building THOR’s hammer, Mjölnir. Thus far, the Air Force has spent $15 million to design and perfect THOR. It operates from a wall plug and uses energy to disable drones.” “The system provides non-kinetic defeat of multiple targets. “Winner of the What’s New in Defense 2021 award, THOR is a counter-swarm electromagnetic weapon the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) developed for defense of airbases,” reads the AFRL’s project home page. Navy photo illustration by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Devin Kates) MICROWAVES PROVIDE THOR’S HAMMER WITH STRIKING POWER During the demonstration, the Solid State Laser – Technology Maturation Laser Weapons System Demonstrator Mark 2 MOD 0 aboard Portland successfully engaged the training target. 14, 2021) - Amphibious transport dock ship USS Portland (LPD 27) conducts a high-energy laser weapon system demonstration on a static surface training target, Dec. Now, the Air Force has announced it is taking THOR to the next level by committing $26 million to build a working prototype named after the god’s mystical hammer. However, one of the most technologically impressive anti-drone approaches highlighted in that story was a microwave weapon known simply as THOR. Some of these drone killing platforms have since been tested, while others (think lasers on fighter jets) remain in earlier stages of development. The Debrief followed up on those efforts last May, reporting on the “ Top 7 Drone Killers Currently in Development.” The Navy also recently tested a drone-killing laser that successfully blasted an incoming target from the water.Īirborne drone threats are even more common, leading the Pentagon to release an official counter-drone strategy last year. Navy’s goals of unmanning the front lines, including a new, autonomous sail drone and replacing them with combat drones. The Debrief previously reported on the U.S. Worldwide military forces increasingly employ drones in land and sea combat situations, often with deadly effectiveness. Photo credit: AFRL Directed Energy Directorate THOR’S HAMMER PART OF A WIDER ANTI-DRONE APPROACHįew, if any, weapons offer the favorable nexus of cost and destructive power than the drone. The Air Force Research Laboratory’s Tactical High Power Operational Responder developed for airbase defense. Dubbed Mjölnir for the actual hammer wielded by the Norse god of thunder, the weapon system could represent a game-changer against the increasing use of unpiloted drones in battle. The United States Air Force is building a working prototype of its anti-drone weapon system known as THOR’s hammer. ![]()
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