Overview
- NORAD and U.S. Northern Command confirmed they deployed ground‑based counter‑drone capabilities and high‑energy lasers around Mar‑a‑Lago at the U.S. Secret Service’s request to add a layer of protection.
- Photographs taken Oct. 31 show an AeroVironment LOCUST‑based AMP‑HEL laser identified at about 20 kilowatts and Army Avenger air‑defense vehicles staged onshore and on a barge near the estate.
- The deployed mix pairs the AMP‑HEL directed‑energy weapon, which uses a focused laser beam to burn through small drones, with Anduril’s portable Flyway C‑UAS kit for RF sensing, jamming and interceptor drones, plus Avenger platforms armed with Stinger missiles for short‑range targets.
- Officials have withheld operational specifics and did not cite a single imminent threat, saying the assets are complementary protective measures rather than a response tied to a named event.
- The visible deployment follows earlier prototype deliveries and a federal pilot to place lasers and other directed‑energy systems at U.S. bases and could accelerate the Pentagon’s domestic use of these tools while raising questions about local airspace management and public visibility of military defenses.