Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is preparing to deploy a laser-based system intended to bring down drones that enter restricted airspace around the Florida spaceport.
A spokesperson for Space Launch Delta 45 told TWZ that the directed-energy equipment will be part of a broader security modernization effort that includes detection, tracking and defensive capabilities. The goal is to help protect personnel, launch complexes and national-security payloads as the site supports commercial and government missions.
Col. Brian Chatman, commander of Space Launch Delta 45, told Florida Today that the system can make a “kinetic kill” against unmanned aircraft judged to have harmful intent. Officials have not identified the specific laser system or provided a timeline for when it will be operating.
The station is used by SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, Blue Origin and Relativity Space. Its roughly 25-square-mile footprint includes a long Atlantic shoreline, and Space Launch Delta 45 said the area has seen many unauthorized drone incursions. Port Canaveral, adjacent to the station, recorded 500 unauthorized drone flights in 2025, according to port CEO Capt. John Murray.
Laser defenses could offer an alternative to radio-frequency jamming, which Chatman said could create challenges around spacecraft. The new system is being planned for Cape Canaveral Space Force Station; it remains unclear whether it would also cover NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, across the Banana River.
The issue has drawn attention after a Chinese tourist pleaded guilty in September to a federal misdemeanor charge tied to a drone flight over restricted airspace at Kennedy Space Center in late July. Federal documents said the drone recorded video and came within 1.56 miles of Launch Pad 39B.
Directed-energy systems also have operational limits, including the need to cool after successive shots, available power and reduced performance in heavy cloud cover or other poor weather conditions.
