The U.S. Army is testing ray guns. Seriously.

Robert LeCompte Jul 7, 2025

Feb 6, 2018

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                <h1>The U.S. Army is testing ray guns. Seriously.</h1>
                <h2><p>Good news for those who wish Star Wars was real: The U.S. Army is officially testing ray guns. The gun, named the Burke Pulser after its creator James Burke, doesn't quite behave like the blasters in Star Wars: A New Hope, says GeekWire. The Army stresses that</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/robert-lecompte-crosscut-com/">Robert LeCompte</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Feb 6, 2018</time></p>
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            <p>Good news for those who wish Star Wars was real: The U.S. Army is officially testing ray guns. The gun, named the Burke Pulser after its creator James Burke, doesn't quite behave like the blasters in <em>Star Wars: A New Hope, </em>says <a href="http://www.geekwire.com/2015/are-star-wars-like-blasters-in-the-near-future-u-s-army-experimenting-with-ray-guns/?ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">GeekWire</a>. The Army stresses that these weapons are only intended to disable enemy electronics, such as drones and BlueTooth controlled explosives, and not for use against people.</p><p>Now if only they could get to work on lightsabers.</p><figure class="kg-card kg-image-card"><img src="https://dev.cascadepbs.org/content/images/sites/default/files/images/article/gallery/storm-trooper.jpg" class="kg-image" alt="Credit:" loading="lazy" width="300" height="200"></figure>
          </article>

Good news for those who wish Star Wars was real: The U.S. Army is officially testing ray guns. The gun, named the Burke Pulser after its creator James Burke, doesn't quite behave like the blasters in Star Wars: A New Hope, says GeekWire. The Army stresses that these weapons are only intended to disable enemy electronics, such as drones and BlueTooth controlled explosives, and not for use against people.

Now if only they could get to work on lightsabers.

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By Robert LeCompte

Robert LeCompte is an editorial intern at Crosscut. He studies communications and film at The Evergreen State College where he recently transferred from Maryland. When not working, he can usually be f