July 18, 2024
During a recent counter-drone demonstration event, Canada became the fifth NATO country to test above-the-horizon lasers to defeat drone threats without a mountain or other geographic backdrop to stop the laser.
In fact, two Canadian innovators, Boeing and AIM Defence, successfully conducted above-the-horizon laser tests during the Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program’s Counter Uncrewed Aerial Systems (CUAS) Sandbox from May 27 to June 21, 2024 at Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC)’s Suffield Research Centre.
In order to safely conduct this test, scientists carefully coordinated with air traffic, space operations, and even the International Space Station. This event was enabled by the proactive efforts of the National Defence Laser Safety Office which defined the first laser weapon safety templates, implemented new safety metrics, and established a coordination process via the 3rd Canadian Space Division to the U.S. Space Force for real-time space asset deconfliction.
Read more at DRDC
