Daily Mail News – Science & Tech
By CHRIS MELORE, DEPUTY SCIENCE EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
Published: 13:53 EDT, 5 May 2026 | Updated: 14:14 EDT, 5 May 2026
A futuristic weapon often dismissed as a conspiracy theory has been publicly acknowledged as being part of the US military’s vast arsenal.
The US Department of War chose ‘Star Wars Day’ on May 4 to state that ‘directed energy weapons are a fine addition to our arsenal.’
Directed energy weapons are devices capable of firing rays of energy, such as microwaves, at a target. Simply put, they fire lasers at the enemy, often to scramble and physically damage electronic equipment.
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