US EditionContract Signed for Laser that Can Take Out High-Speed Drones
The £316 million contract will create 590 UK jobs and equip Royal Navy destroyers with a low-cost laser able to shoot down drones at high speed by 2027.
- Signing the 316 million contract, the MOD awarded MBDA UK to develop the DragonFire Laser Directed Energy Weapon for the Royal Navy's Type 45 destroyers from 2027.
- Following a March announcement this year, the DragonFire programme was accelerated to counter proliferating uncrewed air and surface vehicle threats with lower-cost shots, officials said.
- In recent trials at the MoD Hebrides, DragonFire LDEW tracked targets up to 650 kilometres per hour, achieving a UK first in above‑horizon tracking and hitting a 1p coin target at 1 km.
- The order will sustain around 590 skilled jobs across MBDA sites in Bolton and Bedford, QinetiQ in Farnborough and Leonardo in Edinburgh, with industry and ministers calling it a significant milestone.
- Framed by the Strategic Defence Review, the programme benefits from nearly £1 billion this Parliament and should enable future manufacturing at greater scale and reduced cost, officials say.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Britain's new laser weapon capable of hitting £1 coin from kilometre away shoots down high-speed drone
Britain has unveiled a "game-changing" new laser weapon capable of hitting a £1 coin from more than a kilometre away. The cutting-edge DragonFire directed energy weapon successfully shot down drones travelling at 650kph (400mph), double that of a Formula 1 racing car, during recent tests at the Ministry of Defence's Hebrides facility.The groundbreaking trials marked the first time a British laser weapon has tracked, targeted and eliminated drone…
Contract to deliver first laser weapons for the Royal Navy agreed - Navy Lookout
Following the announcement made in March this year that the DragonFire programme would be accelerated, the MOD has signed a £316 million contract with MBDA UK to provide the Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) for the RN. DragonFire is scheduled to be installed on four RN Type 45 destroyers from 2027, as part of a […] The post Contract to deliver first laser weapons for the Royal Navy agreed first appeared on Navy Lookout.
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