PREVIEW

Britain’s ground-breaking DragonFire laser weapon has shot high-speed drones out of the sky for the first time.

In its most recent trials at the MOD’s Hebrides range it shot down drones which can fly up to 650km/h - twice the top speed of a Formula 1 car. This included a UK first of above-the-horizon tracking, targeting, and shooting down such drones.

The laser system costs just £10 per shot and is accurate enough to hit a £1 coin from a kilometre away. It is a more cost-effective method in comparison to traditional missile systems, which cost upwards of hundreds of thousands of pounds per shot.

DragonFire will be fitted to a Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer by 2027 – five years faster than originally planned.

Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard MP, said: “This high-power laser will see our Royal Navy at the leading edge of innovation in NATO, delivering a cutting-edge capability to help defend the UK and our allies in this new era of threat.”

As part of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), DragonFire is the first high-power laser capability entering service from a European nation, and one of the most advanced directed energy weapons programmes in NATO. 

MBDA UK will work in partnership with QinetiQ and Leonardo to develop the capability.

Steve Wadey, Group CEO, QinetiQ, said: “The DragonFire programme is delivering the ambition of the Strategic Defence Review, with industry experts working in collaboration with government to get disruptive, next generation technology into the hands of our warfighters at pace.”