---
title: "Air Force Research Lab Says Force Fields Are “on the Horizon”"
description: "An Air Force Research Lab report predicts that missile defense force fields are coming soon, thanks to advances in laser technology."
date: "2021-07-23"
modified: "2021-07-23"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/military-force-fields"
categories:
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "force field"
  - "lasers"
  - "military technology"
  - "the digest"
---

# Air Force Research Lab Says Force Fields Are “on the Horizon”

![An Air Force Research Lab report predicts that missile defense force fields are coming soon, thanks to advances in laser technology.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/forcefield.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://unsplash.com/@fakurian" target="\_blank"\>Fakurian / Futurism  \</a\>\</em\>*

## Shields Up!

The Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) seems to be working on bringing a staple of science fiction weaponry — the force field — into reality.

The announcement arrived as part of a [new AFRL report](<https://www.afrl.af.mil/Portals/90/Documents/RD/Directed_Energy_Futures_2060_Final29June21_with_clearance_number.pdf>) on the future of directed energy weapons — you know, lasers and stuff — and how they might be used by the military in the coming decades. The report concedes that developing a missile defense force field will take substantial technological development, but it also opines that directed energy weaponry has reached a "tipping point" of practicality, with a [press release sent to *The Drive*](<https://www.twz.com/41624/air-force-directed-energy-report-argues-defensive-force-fields-may-be-just-on-the-horizon>) claiming that "the concept of a \[directed energy\] weapon creating a localized force field may be just on the horizon."

## Not Quite

Unfortunately, when the AFRL talks about force fields, it doesn't quite mean the laser-like bubbles that the Gungans used against the Trade Federation in "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace."

Rather, the military describes a force field as an "umbrella" formed by various directed energy weapons — currently mounted on vehicles but eventually orbiting in space — that [zap down](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/watch-israels-military-shoot-drones-laser>) any missiles entering a certain radius.

"By 2060 a sufficiently large fleet or constellation of high-altitude \[directed energy weapon\] systems could provide a missile defense umbrella, as part of a layered defense system, if such concepts prove affordable and necessary," the report reads.

"By 2060 we can predict that \[directed energy\] systems will become more effective, and this idea of a force field includes methods to destroy other threats too," AFRL Directed Energy Deputy Chief Scientist Jermey Murray-Krezan said in the release. "Eventually there may be potential to achieve the penultimate goal of a Nuclear or ballistic missile umbrella. It's fun to think about what that might be in 2060, but we don't want to speculate too much."

**READ MORE:** [Air Force Directed Energy Report Argues Defensive Force Fields May Be "Just On The Horizon"](<https://www.twz.com/41624/air-force-directed-energy-report-argues-defensive-force-fields-may-be-just-on-the-horizon>) \[*The Drive*\]

**More on lasers:** *[US Army Testing Machine Gun-Style Laser Weapon That Vaporizes Targets](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/us-army-testing-machine-gun-laser-weapon-vaporizes-targets>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)