A Pulsed Laser That Punches Holes in Drones

Israeli startup Esh-Tech says its 4kW DroneLight system kills small UAVs faster and cheaper than anything on the market.

By The Defense Desk

Israeli defense startup Esh-Tech is preparing to debut DroneLight, a vehicle-mounted pulsed laser designed to destroy small drones, at the Eurosatory exposition in Paris this month. [1]

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[1] Riahi describes the effect as "It's like shooting, making holes in the target like a bullet, but with light." [1]

Weather is a known liability for directed-energy weapons. Esh-Tech says it has developed a method to identify 0.01-second atmospheric windows where conditions improve, potentially extending effective range by 50 to 100 percent. [1] The first operational system is set to be ready in October, with production scaling to hundreds of units annually the following year. [1]

The pitch is mobility over mass: a system that moves with forces rather than anchoring to fixed infrastructure, nimble enough to follow troops and smart enough to pick its moments.

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