Defense Disruptors: The Laser Grid That Could Eliminate Drone Downtime

Tom Nugent‘s company is developing what sounds like science fiction but is reality: beaming power through the air using high-powered lasers to keep drones flying indefinitely.

The CTO of PowerLight Technologies believes their wireless power transmission and distribution system could fundamentally change how uncrewed systems operate in defense and commercial applications.

The concept emerged from observations about improving laser technology. Nugent noted that his late co-founder, Dr. Jordin Kare, identified early innovations showing “a steady Moore’s law-like improvement in lasers” where “the power and the efficiency kept increasing, and most importantly, the cost per watt of optical output would fall in half every three years.”

“We could see a future where lasers would become so cheap that it would make economic sense to deliver energy this way,” Nugent explained.

How Laser Power Transmission Works

PowerLight’s system uses high-power lasers to transmit energy to specialized photovoltaic cells called laser power converters, which convert laser light into electricity.

Nugent described the technology as creating “end-to-end systems” that can connect power sources, whether solar panels or the electric grid, to locations where traditional power infrastructure cannot easily reach.

“A prime example for the defense industry is drones that fly and have a limited amount of time they can spend in the air or on their mission because of the limits of battery and how dilute sunlight is,” Nugent added.

The company focuses heavily on making the receiver side “as efficient, lightweight, and robust as possible” while emphasizing safety technology to ensure the system operates “as safe as a regular extension cord,” according to Nugent.

Safety Measures and Electronic Warfare Resistance

Given the use of high-power lasers, safety represents a critical concern.

Nugent explained that PowerLight employs “a multilayer safety system that detects any objects that approach the high-intensity laser beam” and then “temporarily deactivates the laser so that nothing can get exposed to the high-intensity light.”

When objects pass out of interference range, the laser reactivates, while receiving devices continue operating on onboard batteries during brief interruptions.

Nugent noted that third-party organizations, including the Department of Defense’s Navy Laser Safety Review Board, have tested these safety measures.

Regarding electronic warfare vulnerabilities, Nugent argued that the technology shows inherent resistance to jamming.

“The technology itself is not susceptible to electronic warfare, except in cases where the electronics inside the system are directly affected. For example, a very strong electromagnetic pulse could impact electronic components,” he said.

“But the light itself, imagine it like a flashlight or a visible laser beam or laser pointer, is difficult to disrupt,” he added, though he acknowledged limitations including line-of-sight requirements and inability to penetrate clouds or hills.

However, he noted there are “ways to route the beam to go around things, like going over a hill and relay the beam back down.”

Government Partnerships and Combat Readiness

The Department of Defense has emerged as “an extremely important partner in buying down the risk on the new technology,” according to Nugent.

He highlighted support from CENTCOM and other agencies, including the Operational Energy Innovation Organization under the Office of the Secretary of Defense, along with partnerships with Lockheed Martin.

“People across CENTCOM and other agencies see all the different ways the technology can be applied. They have specific interests in drones, and they have been supportive in helping us mature this technology and get it to field trials needed to advance it to full deployment,” Nugent stated.

However, the technology remains in prototype stages and has not been deployed in combat zones.

Market Competition and Applications

While acknowledging competition in wireless power transmission, Nugent distinguished PowerLight’s approach.

“There are a number of companies working in the wireless power industry, and they have different differentiators,” he said. Many competitors focus on “low power, short distance applications, like IoT devices; things that are sending the power across the room” using lasers or microwaves.

At higher power and longer distances, “fewer groups are working on it,” he noted.

Among competitors working at “kilowatts at kilometers scale of power and distance,” some focus on microwave power beaming while others work on individual components — transmitters or receivers — “whereas we do everything end-to-end,” Nugent said.

He also mentioned “a couple of startups looking to do power beaming from orbit down to the ground” with “very large transmitters,” though those remain “still relatively early in their development.”

Beyond defense applications, Nugent sees significant commercial potential, particularly in telecommunications.

“While the communications devices might be different, the employment would be potentially similar,” he stated when comparing military ISR and communications missions to telecom industry needs.

Operational Range and Environmental Limitations

The system requires strict line-of-sight operation between transmitter and receiver.

“There are ways to have an intermediate relay using a set of optics to redirect the beam. But it does need to be line of sight,” Nugent explained. “The drone has to be within a sort of a cone where the transmitter could see.”

He offered a practical test for operational capability: “A good rule of thumb is that if you can see the other end with binoculars or a telescope, we can get power to it.”

Environmental conditions present challenges, too. “Precipitation or dust will reduce efficiency, and maybe reduce the maximum range, up until you get something like fog that limits range too much,” Nugent said.

Future Vision and Force Multiplication

Nugent envisions the technology transforming military operations through what he calls “force multiplication.”

Currently, operators “might need four drones to be able to have one on target to carry out an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) mission,” but with power beaming, “you can reduce that to two, and both of them can be performing different missions. One that’s waiting to recharge can be doing a communications relay service while the other one is performing an ISR mission.”

This efficiency gain eliminates “wasted assets trying to get out into the field to replace one that’s on target,” he added.

The CTO predicts fundamental changes in operational thinking: “People operating drones will be able to change their mindset and think outside of the battery, because once you don’t have to land, you will be able to say, oh, I can put a higher power payload on my drone, because I don’t have to worry so much about running out of energy.”

He described potential deployment concepts, including “lily pads of transmitters on naval vessels across the ocean, enabling drones to fly hundreds of miles on their battery, and then find these lily pad transmitters to recharge to keep flying.”

The technology also addresses logistical challenges. “Adding this power beaming helps overcome the cost of landing, which is the cost of not just damaged airframes, but the personnel required to manage a growing fleet of UAS,” Nugent explained.

“This is a force multiplier in terms of reducing the need to put more and more people in the field just to swap batteries.”

Evolution From Add-On to Integration

Nugent outlined a development path from supplementary technology to integrated systems.

“Early on, we will have an add-on that can plug into drones and provide power receiving capability,” he said.

“Over time, though, there are opportunities to make the UAS platform more effective, lighter, and more efficient by more deeply integrating power beaming into the body of a drone,” he added.

The extended range capabilities could fundamentally change mission planning, as improved capabilities would enable operators to “start adding more functions and capabilities to the drones to get more usage out of them.”

Dual-Use Concerns and Directed Energy Distinctions

While acknowledging dual-use potential, Nugent carefully distinguished his technology from directed energy weapons.

“Directed energy laser weapons used to shoot down drones have capabilities and use a type of laser that is different from what we use in our transmitters,” he explained.

“A power beaming-specific laser transmitter could not really shoot down drones. We don’t focus the beam tightly enough because we’re using a lower beam quality, and we don’t have all of the ancillary capabilities required to track a hostile target,” he added.

However, Nugent acknowledged exploring connections between the technologies: “We have done projects that have looked at using directed energy laser weapons as a power source, because obviously those are being fielded and given all the money spent on those, if they can spend some of their time performing a secondary mission of power delivery, that might be a win.”

Such projects demonstrated “that you can convert that directed energy power into electric power using receivers custom-designed for that,” he said.

Long-Term Vision and Broader Applications

Looking ahead, Nugent outlined ambitious expansion plans extending far beyond current drone applications and built upon the essential capability offered by power beaming.

“Down the road, we look to expanding the distances and the power levels. There’s interest in beaming power from orbit to the ground. There’s interest in beaming power on the moon into permanently shadowed craters. There’s interest in beaming power from one satellite to another,” he stated.

Terrestrial applications could eliminate traditional infrastructure needs: “There’s interest in beaming power, point to point on the ground over multiple kilometers, for which you don’t have to run copper wire all across a city,” Nugent explained.

The CTO emphasized that successful commercialization involves multiple technological breakthroughs rather than a single innovation.

“There isn’t a single thing that made the products possible. It’s been several different innovations, partially reflected in our IP portfolio across the system level, the receiver level, the safety system,” he noted.

Normalizing Wireless Power Distribution

For Nugent, the work represents something larger than technological innovation, a fundamental shift in how society thinks about energy distribution. “Commercializing this technology is part of the vision for PowerLight to normalize distributing energy wirelessly,” he said.

“People hear the word laser, they think, oh my gosh, it’s going to cut things or damage things. But our laser beams are not that intense,” he explained.

He concluded with a broader perspective on the technology’s significance: “Energy is one of those fundamental things to all of human society, alongside fresh water and food, that completely affects what we can do. We are so excited about the whole energy industry and what it means for human society. And this is our part to expand what’s possible.”

Despite the ambitious scope, Nugent acknowledged initial skepticism: “To many people, when they first hear of it, it sounds like science fiction. But it’s something that’s actually much closer to reality than a lot of people think.”