The U.S. military has turned Mar-a-Lago into something that looks like a Bond villain’s lair, and honestly, it’s pretty awesome. At the request of the Secret Service, the military has deployed a 20-kilowatt Army Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser, surface-to-air missile systems loaded with Stinger missiles, and counter-drone technology around President Trump’s Palm Beach club and the nearby airport.
Photographs published by local media showed the hardware in place, and the images went viral on X almost immediately. A self-propelled surface-to-air missile system rolling around near a Florida golf club tends to attract attention. Who says the Trump era is boring?
NORTHCOM and NORAD confirmed the deployment to military blog Laser Wars, which has been tracking Mar-a-Lago directed-energy weapon deployment closely. At the request of the US Secret Service and under NORAD and USNORTHCOM authorities, NORAD and USNORTHCOM recently deployed ground-based air defense assets and Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System capabilities, including our C-UAS Flyway Kit and High Energy Lasers (HEL) in and around Mar-a-Lago, Florida,” the commands said in a statement. “These assets add a complementary layer of technology to enhance protection.”
The Secret Service didn’t sugarcoat why any of this is necessary. “The US Secret Service is operating in a heightened threat environment, and we continuously adapt our protective operations to incorporate cutting-edge tools, technology, and methods to safeguard our protectees,” the agency said. That’s a very professional way of saying the people trying to harm the President of the United States have forced the military to park a laser cannon outside his house.
The laser system works alongside the Stinger missile batteries, which had already gone viral after photos circulated on X. Additional Stinger systems were also sent to Palm Beach International Airport nearby, covering the full approach corridor. The layered setup means anything threatening coming in by air, whether a drone or something larger, is going to have a very bad day.
This is what it looks like when the government actually takes a president’s security seriously, and the military and Secret Service deserve credit for pulling out all the stops. The hardware is now in place, the perimeter is set, and Mar-a-Lago has more air-defense firepower than most small nations. Let’s see a drone get through that.
