An Xbox controller could become an unlikely part of the U.S. military’s effort to strengthen defenses against hostile drones. As inexpensive aircraft multiply, forces can face the costly prospect of firing multimillion dollar missiles at drones worth only a fraction of the interceptor’s price.

KBR is offering another approach through Firefly, a mobile high energy laser weapon system developed by Kord Technologies. Instead of launching a costly missile, the system directs a concentrated beam of light at the target.

The Pentagon recently selected the company for a pilot program focused on protecting U.S. military installations from adversarial drones. The program will evaluate whether directed energy weapons can provide a less expensive option for defeating those threats.

Firefly’s Xbox controller is intended to make operating the weapon more familiar to service members. David Zoller Jr., senior director for KBR, said the controller “reduces the amount of time that it takes to train somebody because they already know what that feels like — what all the buttonology is.”

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Under the pilot program, directed energy weapons will be placed at military bases across the country for a yearlong assessment. Service members will operate and maintain the systems while also collecting data about their performance.

The Pentagon will use the assessment to gather information about logistics and costs. That practical examination will put Firefly in the hands of military personnel rather than limiting its evaluation to demonstrations conducted by company officials.

KBR subsidiary Kord has marketed Firefly as a palletized mobile laser system. Part of the equipment resembles a futuristic modular cell phone camera lens, while the broader weapon can be moved and mounted for operations.

According to the company, Firefly can operate in temperatures ranging from negative 15 to 35 degrees Celsius. During an August demonstration in Alabama, company officials said a system mounted on a truck required only a few seconds to bring down a small drone.

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The engagement process begins when Firefly’s radar detects a potential threat. The radar then sends a cue to a human operator, who can investigate the contact and determine what the system has found.

Firefly’s software includes target list capabilities designed to help the operator identify objects that might pose threats. Using built in cameras, the operator can zoom in to examine whether the anomaly is a bird, plane or drone.

Artificial intelligence automatically tracks the object, but the person controlling the system retains authority over the engagement. Zoller said Firefly “still has a person that decides not just when to fire, but also where to fire.”

After the operator makes the necessary decisions, the system tracks the threat and aims the laser at a selected part of the target. Zoller described the beam as “weaponized light” that counters threats by burning a hole through them.

The targeting can be precise enough to focus on a particular propeller, engine or fuel tank. That precision gives the operator options for directing the laser against a specific component after identifying the target and authorizing the shot.

Zoller also warned that high energy laser systems are “not a silver bullet.” Firefly can engage only one threat at a time, meaning an operator facing a drone swarm would have to prioritize the most dangerous or immediate target.

Multiple Firefly systems would be needed to confront several incoming drones at once. “As a swarm would come in, I would have multiple systems engaging on the most imminent threat,” Zoller explained.

The pilot program will now test the technology across U.S. military installations for a full year. Its results will give the Pentagon information about how the mobile laser performs when service members operate it, maintain it and collect data under the program.

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