The British Navy is accelerating the introduction of the DragonFire laser weapon capable of shooting down drones and missiles. Earlier this year have already tested this system. And by 2027, it is planned to be deployed on warships of the Royal Navy.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) has accelerated the introduction of the laser in response to the growing threat of drone attacks in connection with «two major conflicts». We are talking about the war in Ukraine and Gaza. Usually, the process of introducing new weapons can take up to 10 years. However, Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said he wants to «accelerate the process … to a much shorter timeframe» and also deploy laser weapons «potentially on ships and potentially on land». Shapps said the UK plans to add DragonFire to its arsenal by 2027.
However, the use of DragonFire in real combat conditions may occur even earlier. According to Grant Shapps, the UK is working to see if it can send prototypes to Ukraine earlier, even if they are not 100% advanced.
The DragonFire system is a promising laser directed weapon. It works by focusing 37 channels of 1.5 kW laser beams arranged in a hexagonal shape and combining them with mirrors to merge and amplify the power. Tim Kendall, a senior laser physicist at the UK’s Defense Science Laboratory Porton Down (DSTL) who helped create DragonFire, said it creates a «perfect laser beam» that can be fired through a telescopic lens.
This weapon is silent and invisible because the wavelength of the light is about one micron, which is not visible to the human eye and is close to the infrared spectrum of light.
The system’s shot lasts up to 10 seconds. At the same time, DragonFire travels at the speed of light. It instantly turns the metal surface into plasma with a temperature of 3000C and can burn through sheet metal, fuselage and weapons in seconds. The system’s range is classified. However, it is known that the cost of one shot is £10 (about 492 UAH). At the same time, the system has an unlimited ammunition supply as long as electricity is available.
The system was created with the intention of destroying drones, which have become one of the main weapons during the hostilities in Ukraine and Gaza. But Shapps believes the system is powerful enough to neutralize faster-moving projectiles, such as ballistic missiles.
«There is a conflict going on in Europe right now for which we have unique advanced weapons that can be useful. Let’s say it doesn’t have to be 100% perfect, so that maybe Ukrainians can get it»,” the Defense Minister said.
Matt Cork, project manager at DSTL, said that DragonFire could be delivered for «experimentation» to a number of Army personnel in September, and the 7th Air Defense Group will test the technology.
The ground-based version of DragonFire will be mounted on a truck, after which British Army experts will give feedback on how it can be improved and highlight any problems.