Many countries are looking for capable protection against unmanned aerial vehicles. The USA is one of them. The US Air Force Research Laboratory conducted the first test of an experimental weapon.

What is known

The gun was named Tactical High-power Operational Responder, (THOR). It is able to counteract drones that can work alone, in small groups or unite in huge swarms.

The THOR container complex is positioned as a point-based air defense system. The system includes a powerful microwave gun that can shoot down drones at short distances.

A press release from the US Air Force Research Laboratory states that the test passed on April 5, 2023. American experts tested the air defense system at the Kirtland base in New Mexico.

The purpose of the April tests was to check the compliance of real indicators with computer models. Representatives of the US Air Force Research Laboratory did not specify how many drones were used and how many of them the system was able to hit. The press release says only that THOR successfully disables several drones simultaneously by overheating their electronics.

Although the April test was the first large-scale test of the microwave gun, the Air Force Research Laboratory had previously conducted two demonstrations. In 2019, THOR successfully hit one drone. A year later, the operation of the gun was demonstrated abroad, but no details are available.

Source: Air Force Research Laboratory