US Deploys Laser Counter-Drone System at Mar-a-Lago

"Lasers are real. We can do it. We can go out. We can shoot things," Kirk Williams, Chief Engineer at the Army’s Directed Energy Project Office, told an audience at AUSA last month.

AeroVironment LOCUST observed at Mar‑a‑Lago

At least one AeroVironment LOCUST laser counter‑drone system is now part of the protective array around President Donald Trump’s Mar‑a‑Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, photographs show. The JLTV‑mounted LOCUST appears in images taken by Getty Images photographer Andrew Harnik on October 31; Laser Wars first identified the system in Harnik’s pictures and confirmed the deployment. When exactly the laser‑directed energy weapon was brought to the property is unclear from the reporting.

Other air‑defense assets on site and nearby

The LOCUST is arriving amid a visible buildup of complementary systems. Two Humvee‑based AN/TWQ‑1 Avenger short‑range air defense systems were photographed on a floating platform in Lake Worth Lagoon at the edge of the estate. Additional Avenger systems have also been positioned around Donald J. Trump International Airport, roughly three miles to the west.

Military elements of Counter‑Unmanned Aircraft System (C‑UAS) Fly‑Away Kits have been set up nearby as well. The reporting lists components of those kits as including:

• Ku‑band radar
• electronic support measures (ESM)
• jammers
• a 360‑degree infrared search and track system

Official rationale: USSS request, NORAD and USNORTHCOM support

NORAD and U.S. Northern Command told TWZ that the deployments were made “At the request of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) and under NORAD [the U.S.‑Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command] and USNORTHCOM [U.S. Northern Command] authorities.” The commands added: “These assets add a complementary layer of technology to enhance protection. Due to operational security, we are unable to provide additional details. For further detail, we refer you to the USSS.”

The U.S. Secret Service likewise said it is “operating in a heightened threat environment, and we continuously adapt our protective operations to incorporate cutting‑edge tools, technology, and methods to safeguard our protectees.” The agency confirmed NORAD and USNORTHCOM were providing C‑UAS capabilities “in support of our protective operations.”

How LOCUST fits into U.S. directed‑energy deployments

The LOCUST family has been fielded and prototyped across several Army and joint programs. The Army began receiving JLTV‑ and Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV)‑mounted LOCUSTs last year under the Army Multi‑Purpose High Energy Laser (AMP‑HEL) effort. Earlier palletized deliveries came through the Palletized‑High Energy Laser (P‑HEL) rapid prototyping effort in the early 2020s. The Army is now acquiring LOCUST X3 systems under the Enduring‑High Energy Laser (E‑HEL) program.

LOCUST variants share common components: a turreted laser beam projector; built‑in electro‑optical and infrared cameras for acquisition and tracking; and dedicated power generation and cooling. Variants can be cued by off‑board sensors, including small‑form‑factor high‑frequency radars and passive radio‑frequency detection systems—the same kinds of sensors found in Fly‑Away Kits.

The stated power of the latest X3 variant is 30 kilowatts. The system is characterized in the reporting as a high‑energy laser at the lower end of that category, explicitly tailored for defeating small uncrewed aerial systems.

Operational history, limits, and the sustainment challenge

LOCUST has seen prior operational use: the Army confirmed in 2022 that two P‑HEL systems had deployed to unspecified foreign locations. JLTV‑ and ISV‑based AMP‑HELs have appeared along the U.S.–Mexico border earlier this year; one deployment contributed to an airspace shutdown around El Paso, Texas, in February and prompted the Pentagon to craft a new agreement with the FAA on the domestic use of laser directed‑energy weapons.

The reporting reiterates both the promise and the known limits of laser systems. Advantages noted include a high magazine depth so long as power and cooling are available, and a lower cost‑per‑intercept compared with traditional interceptors when engaging low‑cost small drones. Limits described include single‑target engagement at a time, longer dwell times for lower‑powered lasers, degradation of beam power with atmospheric propagation and weather, and sensitivity to vibration, humidity, dust, sand, fragile optics, and cooling demands—all factors that complicate field reliability and sustainment.

Both the 2022 testing photographs of damaged quadcopter drones and recent remarks from the Army’s Directed Energy Project Office underscore the current work‑in‑progress nature of fielding. As Kirk Williams put it at AUSA, the focus now is making these systems “reliable enough, maintainable and repairable” so soldiers (and, in this case, protectors) can have faith in them under operational conditions.

What this means for the Secret Service, the Army, and the FAA

The Secret Service is using new C‑UAS and GBAD tools as part of an adaptive protective posture around a named protectee. The Army is continuing to field and iterate LOCUST variants under AMP‑HEL and E‑HEL while testing sustainment and reliability in domestic and foreign contexts. The FAA is a named actor indirectly implicated by prior LOCUST activity: a February airspace shutdown near El Paso led the Pentagon to negotiate a new domestic usage agreement with the agency.

At least one LOCUST system is now participating in a very high‑profile protective mission; the deployment illustrates both the military utility of lower‑power directed‑energy weapons against small drones and the operational caveats that come with them. NORAD, USNORTHCOM and the Secret Service cite operational security for limited disclosure; the public record shows the capability is present, but not the duration, operational rules, or exact employment plans.

Source: TWZ — Counter-Drone Laser Weapon Now Guarding Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Alongside SAMs