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Defense

Pentagon's Laser Weapon Contracts for Drone Defense Hand a Direct Win to Directed-Energy Specialists

The Defense Department is paying multiple companies to build high-energy lasers that kill drone swarms — and a handful of small-cap defense names stand to collect.

Image: Money Racket
By at Money Racket · Jul 16, 2026
1-YEAR MOVE
+71% −46%
KTOS ▼32.0% LDOS ▼24.7% NOC ▼0.6% LHX ▼5.6%
1-year price move by ticker
TickerCompany1-year change
KTOSKratos Defense−32.0%
LDOSLeidos−24.7%
NOCNorthrop Grumman−0.6%
LHXL3Harris−5.6%

The Pentagon has awarded contracts to develop laser weapons specifically designed to shoot down drone swarms, a mission that has moved from experimental to urgent after lessons from Ukraine and the Middle East. The awards span multiple vendors, signaling the DoD wants competitive development rather than a single-source monopoly.

The Pentagon wants lasers that kill drone swarms cheaply — and the small-cap directed-energy names collect far more per dollar of contract than the mega-caps do.

Who cashes in: Raytheon (RTX) has a long-running directed-energy portfolio and is a likely awardee or subcontractor on any large-scale laser program — though as a mega-cap, the revenue needle barely moves. The more interesting plays are smaller. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS) builds unmanned systems and counter-drone tech and has been positioning itself in this space; contract wins here are meaningful to its revenue base. CACI International CACI and Leidos LDOS provide the command-and-control software that ties laser systems into broader air-defense networks — indirect but real beneficiaries. On the pure directed-energy side, FLIR Systems was absorbed into Teledyne TDY, which now carries relevant sensor and targeting technology.

Who's exposed: Traditional kinetic counter-drone solutions — think short-range missiles and gun-based systems — face a slow substitution threat. Northrop Grumman NOC and L3Harris LHX both sell conventional counter-UAS systems that lasers are designed to replace over time. Neither faces an immediate revenue cliff, but the long-term procurement mix is shifting against them.

Watch for the specific contract dollar amounts and named awardees when the Pentagon releases the formal contract announcements. If Kratos or a similarly sized pure-play is named as a prime contractor rather than a subcontractor, that's the signal the thesis has real near-term earnings legs.

Source: original report ↗

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