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Directed Energy Weapons Impact on Taiwan Straits Conflict

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  • By AFTAC

TOPIC SPONSOR: AFTAC

DEW is a critical threat; the science is understood and the engineering has a relatively low cost of entry.  Does the Chinese Communist Party's directed energy weapons advancements compromise US, allies, and partner nations’ advanced weapons systems capabilities in a potential Taiwan Strait conflict? How should the USG respond to this threat in a potential Taiwan Strait conflict?

  • Adams, Lt. Col. Nicholas, "Killing Drones, Saving Bones: Cost Effective Counter-Small UAS Options for an Agile Force," AFGC thesis, 2024, 44 pgs. 
    • While focused primarily on counter-drone systems rather than a Taiwan conflict, this paper confirms the extremely low cost of entry for certain DEWs, noting that South Korea is deploying a laser system that costs about $1.50 per shot. It explains that High-Powered Microwaves (HPM) use short, high-peak energy bursts to affect electronic circuitry, which can cause power cycling, introduce errors, or destroy components without destroying the physical target.
  • McCaughan, Lt. Col. Ryan, "You Can't Just 'Ukraine' Taiwan: The Imperative to Strengthen Taiwan's Defensive Posture," AWC RSS paper, 2025, 18 pgs. 
    • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Highlights the extreme risk of rapid escalation in a Taiwan conflict, noting that China's perspective on using an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) weapon as a cyber weapon, rather than a nuclear weapon, represents a dangerous area for potential miscalculation between the U.S. and China. 
  • Peirce, Garrett S., "The Future of the Space Warfighting Domain: Insights from the Evolution of the Subsurface and Air Warfighting Domains," SAASS thesis, 2024, 120 pgs. 
    • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Provides historical context, noting that DEWs have replaced the need for nuclear weapons to neutralize satellites. It notes rumors that China has possessed a DEW anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon since 1995 and tested it against U.S. satellites in 2006.
  • Podesta, Lt. Col. Alessandro, "The Concepts of Mass and Surprise in Future Air Wars," AWC Strategic Studies Paper, 2024, 24 pgs. 
    • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Notes that peer competitors, notably China, are actively developing and deploying multiple ground-based Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs) and anti-satellite weapons to exploit vulnerabilities within U.S. space infrastructure and diminish the military efficacy of Western allies
  • Reeves, B. Ray, "Strategic Instability: The Dark Side of Seeking a First-Mover Advantage in Space," SAASS thesis, 2024, 87 pgs. 
    • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Highlights that the People's Republic of China is rapidly developing high-powered directed energy weapons (DEW)—such as lasers and microwave systems—designed to disrupt or paralyze U.S. satellites in a potential conflict over Taiwan. He uses these DEW advancements to illustrate the destabilizing nature of the space arms race, noting that because weapons like terrestrial high-powered lasers can be used for both retaliation and surprise attacks, they fuel dangerous "first-mover" suspicions between the U.S. and China.