Commander of the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) General Charles Brown has stated in an interview with Aviation Week that he is interested in equipping US military bases across the Indo-Pacific region with laser weapons powered by “a small nuclear reactor” to better protect them from aerial attacks. The general suggested that such systems may be more effective than “larger and heavier interceptor-based systems”, such as Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) or Patriot systems.
The latter’s reputation recently suffered a blow after the much vaunted system failed to avert the devastating attack of missiles and drones on Saudi Aramco oil refineries on 14 September. The US reacted to the incident by deploying an additional battalion of Patriots to Saudi Arabia.
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