Trump Advances Plans to Target Drug Boats with Microwave Weapon

May 18, 2026, 9:07 PM UTC

The Trump Administration is advancing plans to use a high-power microwave weapon as part of its efforts to target purported drug smuggling boats on the high seas.

Lockheed Martin would help the Coast Guard develop such a device that would be compact enough to fit on small vessels under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement “to augment its drug and human trafficking interdiction missions,” according to a Monday post in the Federal Register. The technology damages electronics in its targets.

The notice is the latest example of the Trump administration pursuing high-power microwave weapons and other advanced technologies, such as ...

Learn more about Bloomberg Government or Log In to keep reading:

See Breaking News in Context

Providing news, analysis, data and opportunity insights.

Already a subscriber?

Log in to keep reading or access research tools and resources.