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A high-tech anti-drone weapon has been cleared for use by the US Air Force overseas for the first time.

The PHASER weapon system can knock swarms of drones out of the sky using pulses of energy.

On Monday, the Pentagon told Congress it had purchased a microwave weapon system for a "field assessment for purposes of experimentation".

The location for the secret test is unknown but is confirmed to be outside of the US.

Military chiefs expect to complete the test by December 20, 2020, making the overseas deployment "against real-world or simulated hostile vignettes" imminent.

(Image: Popular Mechanics) (Image: Popular Mechanics)

The tests should take around one year to complete, and represent the first use of a directed energy defence weapon in the field.

US Air Force bosses spent $16.28m (£13.03) for one prototype PHASER weapon.

The threat of enemy drones has soared in recent years, and the US Air Force is looking to test their effectiveness in the field on the frontlines of areas of tension, including North Korea, Africa, Ukraine and the Middle East.

Michael Jirjis, lead on the PHASER tests, told US media: "At the moment we have awarded multiple DE systems for use in our field assessment overseas and are working to support multiple bases and areas of responsibility.

"We can't say which specific locations at this time."

Officials at the Air Force and Raytheon, who manufactured the system, say talks on the purchase have been underway for some time.

But it comes days after a recent swarm attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities highlighted the risk of drone warfare.

The drone attacks, blamed on Iran by the US, raised fears they would send petrol prices in the UK soaring.

"This is not the reaction of just a few events but the realisation of a growing need over the past few years," Jirjis added.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford said on Friday the US would be moving enhanced air defences into the Middle East, adding that the Pentagon is working with the Saudis to come up with a defence plan.

(Image: Popular Mechanics) (Image: Popular Mechanics)

The PHASER system could now be at the forefront of that fight.

Don Sullivan, Raytheon missile systems' chief technologist for directed energy, described the PHASER purchase as "a remarkable coincidence".

He added: "This has been in the works between the Air Force and Raytheon essentially since an experiment at White Sands Missile Range late last year."

Sullivan said a recent drone attack in Yemen which killed 40 people was "a real eye-opener".

He went on: "What happened in Saudi Arabia over the weekend was kind of that raised to the nth degree."