The Pentagon, in a statement, confirmed that it uses specialized energy weapons for defense, seemingly validating researchers who had long warned about this technology.

The announcement came via a post on X by the Department of Defense’s Chief Technology Officer, Emil Michael, on May 4—a day also known as “Star Wars Day.”

“Directed energy weapons are a powerful addition to our arsenal…” the post read, accompanied by an image of such a weapon firing a laser beam and a soldier holding his head.

According to the X post, these beams consist of “concentrated electromagnetic energy or atomic and subatomic particles.”

What DEWs are

These weapons, known as DEWs (Directed Energy Weapons), use focused beams to disable electronic systems such as drones and to immobilize—or even kill—enemy soldiers, according to the New York Post. The Pentagon’s announcement appeared to confirm long-standing rumors that the government had been developing a weapon reminiscent of science fiction.

“I was attacked with a directed energy weapon,” antigravity scientist said before her death

One of the figures raising alarm was the late scientist Amy Eskridge, 34. She had been involved in extensive research on antigravity technology, UFOs, and extraterrestrial life.

Eskridge, who reportedly died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 2022, had claimed she was attacked with a DEW inside her home in Huntsville, Alabama, shortly before her death, according to the Daily Mail.

Her theory was supported by retired British intelligence officer Franc Milburn, whom she had hired to investigate the harassment she said she faced after threatening to reveal sensitive information about her research.

He claimed that she had been targeted by a “directed energy weapon” that caused microwave burns on her body. Milburn even shared photos showing blisters, skin lesions, and other injuries she allegedly sustained.

The retired paratrooper added that she had messaged him in May saying:
“The former CIA weapons expert on my team saw my hands when they were badly burned a few months ago.”

Milburn, who submitted his findings to Congress in 2023, concluded that Eskridge did not die by suicide, as authorities ruled, but was murdered by a “private aerospace company” seeking to stop her from investigating sensitive security matters.

The K-band

The K-band refers to a specific range of radio waves that can be converted into beams and directed at targets.

Theories not confirmed

Although claims of DEW attacks have not been confirmed, the military does use similar laser-based technologies in testing.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon has recently intensified its focus on energy weapons, requesting $789.7 million in funding for DEW programs for the 2025 fiscal year, according to a report on the official Congress website.

Much of this research is handled by external companies, such as defense technology firm AeroVironment, which has ties to national security and reportedly helped develop the weapon featured in the Pentagon’s social media post—the Locust X3.

Disappearances of urgent national concern

This beam weapon is capable of firing at the speed of light to disable aerial drones, according to the Daily Mail.

Eskridge is one of 11 leading US scientists and researchers who have either died or gone missing following their work on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs) and other national security issues.

Their mysterious disappearances have been labeled a matter of urgent national concern, according to a member of the House Oversight Committee.

Congressman Eric Burlison (Republican, Missouri) said his office had already been investigating some of the “highly coincidental” disappearances a year before former US President Donald Trump told reporters he had ordered an inquiry.

The politician suggested that their fate is “certainly” linked to their access to classified aerospace, defense, and UFO-related information, and could even involve hostile actors from China, Russia, or Iran.