Athena laser weapon shoots down five drones

Lockheed Martin has released footage from tests with its laser weapon system, revealing how the Advanced Test High Energy Asset (Athena) laser weapon can deliver an invisible killing blow to take down an enemy drone. In the tests conducted at New Mexico's White Sands Missile Range, the prototype laser weapon shot down five unmanned Outlaw aircraft. The video shows the moment flames burst from the tails of the flying drones one by one before they plummet toward the ground, as the silent attack causes loss of control and structural failure. Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Army's Space and Missile Defense Command conducted the tests using the 30-kilowatt-class Athena system. See the video online at https://youtu.be/hNsUtZmWgdg.