The 9th Annual Directed Energy Symposium

The 9th Annual Directed Energy Symposium will convene leading experts, policymakers, leaders, and innovators across the Directed Energy community to explore the latest advancements and applications in directed energy systems and technologies to support the Warfighter and national defense objectives. Discussions at the event will provide valuable insights into the evolving landscape of directed energy warfare and the associated opportunities and challenges. The symposium arrives at a pivotal inflection point for the directed energy enterprise. For decades, the promise of speed-of-light engagement, near-zero cost per shot, and deep magazines against massed aerial threats remained just beyond operational reach. That moment has passed. Senior Department of War officials have declared directed energy operationally mature, the Navy's HELIOS system has now defeated drone targets in live at-sea testing, the Army is advancing the Enduring High Energy Laser toward its first program of record, and the Marine Corps has taken delivery of its first expeditionary high-power microwave system. The question is no longer whether directed energy works. The question is how fast we can scale it, sustain it, and fight with it.