00:26What if the biggest threat
00:28to a $13 billion aircraft carrier costs just a few thousand dollars?
00:33That's the reality the United States is now facing.
00:36Cheap mass-produced drones, many linked to Iran, are rapidly changing the battlefield.
00:41In recent months U.S. warships in the region have already been forced to respond to approaching
00:46Iranian drones, highlighting a growing vulnerability, and experts warn that drone
00:52swarms, not missiles, could overwhelm even the most advanced naval defenses.
00:56Now the U.S. is testing a new answer, a weapon that fires at the speed of light.
01:02It's called LOCUST, a high-energy laser system designed to track and destroy drones mid-air.
01:07The test took place aboard the USS George H.W. Bush CVN 77, where the system was mounted directly
01:15on the flight deck. During the trial it successfully detected, tracked, and neutralized multiple aerial
01:20targets. A major step forward, and possibly the first time a laser weapon has been fired from a
01:26U.S. aircraft carrier. The system is developed by Aerovironment, after acquiring Blue Halo.
01:32So why does this matter right now? Because the nature of war is changing. Iran's strategy relies
01:37heavily on low-cost drones, weapons that are cheap to produce but capable of causing serious damage,
01:44and draining expensive U.S. missile defenses. This is what military experts call asymmetric warfare,
01:50where a low-cost threat forces a high-cost response, and that's exactly the problem LOCUST is trying to
01:56solve. Each laser shot costs just a few dollars, no missiles, no reloads. As long as there's power,
02:03it keeps firing, making it ideal against drone swarms, one of the biggest emerging threats in regions like
02:09the Persian Gulf. But there's an important detail. This was a test, not a confirmed permanent deployment.
02:15The system is modular, meaning it can be installed or removed depending on mission needs. Still,
02:21its success at sea sends a clear signal. The U.S. is preparing for a future where drones,
02:26not fighter jets, define the front lines, and where the next major conflict may not be decided by missiles.
02:33But by who can stop hundreds of drones at once, the shift has already begun,
02:38and this test shows exactly where it's heading.
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