In late October 2024, the US Army achieved a major milestone in air defense when it successfully deployed a powerful new weapon in Iraq. This cutting-edge system, known as the Directed Energy Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (DE M-SHORAD), uses a 50-kilowatt laser mounted on a Stryker vehicle to protect against aerial threats like drones, rockets, artillery, and mortars. This marks an important step forward in the Army's efforts to tackle the growing dangers posed by small, fast-moving aerial a...