The Pentagon has revealed plans to equip drones with powerful lasers to shoot missiles out of the sky.

The drones would stay aloft for days at a time, operating at an altitude of 65,000 ft with the power to destroy missiles during their launch phase, before they can deploy decoys or other countermeasures.

Officials said using drones would be more effective than a previous programme that used a Boeing 747 test plane.

Speaking at a Centre for Strategic and International Studies event in Washington, Vice-Adm James Syring, the Missile Defense Agency director, said advances in laser technology meant they could soon be fitted to high-altitude drones.

"We have significantly ramped up our program in terms of investment and talking about it more of what else needs to be done to mature this capability," he said, according to Defence One.