---
title: "US Navy’s Energy Weapon Gets First “Kill,” Shoots Iranian Drone"
description: "The U.S. military says it downed an Iranian drone using a new directed-energy weapon — but Iran is denying to incident even took place."
date: "2019-07-22"
modified: "2019-07-22"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin Houser"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/kristin"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/iranian-drone-us-energy-weapon-first-kill"
categories:
  - "Drones"
  - "Energy"
  - "Robotics"
  - "Robots and Machines"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "drone"
  - "light marine air defense integrated system"
  - "military"
  - "the digest"
---

# US Navy’s Energy Weapon Gets First “Kill,” Shoots Iranian Drone

![The U.S. military says it downed an Iranian drone using a new directed-energy weapon — but Iran is denying to incident even took place.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/iranian-drone-us-energy-weapon-first-kill.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: US Marine Corps\</em\>*

## Firing Back

In June, Iran's military [shot down](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/iran-shot-drone-spied>) one of the U.S. Navy's $130 million Global Hawk drones, claiming it had veered out of international airspace and into the nation's territory.

Now, the U.S. Navy has returned the favor, using a new directed-energy weapon to disable an Iranian drone in the same region — marking the next-generation device's first known "kill."

https://youtu.be/MGP5_gLGGPE

## Mixed Signals

According to a Department of Defense [statement](<https://dod.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1909776/statement-from-chief-pentagon-spokesperson-jonathan-hoffman-on-uss-boxer/>), a fixed wing drone approached the USS Boxer while the ship traveled through the Strait of Hormuz on July 18. The drone then came within a threatening range, prompting the crew to take "defensive action."

A defense official later [told *Military.com*](<https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/07/18/heres-new-marine-corps-weapon-just-destroyed-iranian-drone.html>) on the condition of anonymity that the Navy took out the drone using its Light Marine Air Defense Integrated System (LMADIS), a new device that uses radio frequencies to jam drones.

Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif, meanwhile, has denied the incident altogether, [telling reporters](<https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/18/politics/trump-us-destroyed-iranian-drone/index.html>) the nation has "no information about losing a drone."

## First Kill

With drones becoming cheaper and more capable, the U.S. military has been investing heavily in [anti-drone tech](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/anti-drone-weapons>) in recent years. However, while many of those systems involve literally shooting down drones, LMADIS essentially uses energy to render a drone useless.

That makes it a far cheaper countermeasure to a drone attack than, say, [shooting a threatening device with a missile](<https://futurism.com/a-country-just-used-a-patriot-missile-to-take-down-a-200-drone>) — meaning this first directed-energy drone "kill" might just be the first of many.

**READ MORE:** [A US Navy ship used a new drone-defense system to take down an Iranian drone](<https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/21/20700670/us-marines-mrzr-lmadis-iran-drone-shoot-down-energy-weapon-uss-boxer>) \[*The Verge*\]

**More on drones:** *[Before Iran Shot It Down, the US's $130m Drone Spied on the World](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/iran-shot-drone-spied>)*

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinjhouser>)