Laser and microwave weapons are considered critical elements of layered defense, or having different countermeasures ready to thwart different threats.
The bombers took off from the Royal Air Force base at Fairford, England, and flew over the eastern Mediterranean, the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea.
The Army's new Directed Energy Systems Integration Laboratory will help the service drive down cost and schedule risk in emerging laser weapons programs.
The U.S. will send Ukraine another $1 billion in weapons to fight Russia, including Harpoon anti-ship launchers for the first time from the U.S., and more ammunition for high-tech, medium-range rocket launchers, the Biden administration announced Wednesday.
For ground-based observers calling in fires on a target, the observer historically worked with a radio and a pair of binoculars, or a bulky laser guidance system to get the job done. But systems have become more more precise and portable over the decades.