Video

Video by Ryan J Law

AFRL's THOR Tracks and Disables Drone Swarm"

Air Force Research Laboratory

Nov. 15, 2023 | 1:21

As the threats from unmanned aerial system swarms evolve, the Department of Defense is exploring options to protect our warfighters further. Tactical, High-power, Operational Responder, known as THOR, is a high-power microwave counter-drone weapon that the Air Force Research Lab has demonstrated for effective against realistic targets.

Numerous drones were flown to simulate a swarm attack, and using its wide beam, high peak powers and fast-moving gimble, THOR tracked and turned off the entire swarm. The results are a promising step in protecting warfighters from the potential threat of drone attacks, adding to the suite of existing installation force protection tools.

AFRL is also using THOR’s success to create a new prototype called Mjolnir, which includes key enhancements to make the system even faster, lighter, and more capable.