The UK’s ground-breaking DragonFire laser has shot down high-speed drones in new trials, as a £316 million contract is awarded to MBDA deliver new systems to the Royal Navy from 2027.
Its most recent trials at the MOD’s Hebrides range involved drones which can fly up to 650km/h – twice the top speed of a Formula 1 car – including 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.
The DragonFire laser will help to create and sustain 590 jobs across the UK, showing how defence is an engine for growth. This includes 200 highly skilled jobs in Scotland, 185 jobs in the South West of England and 75 jobs in the East of England.
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. We are delivering on our Strategic Defence Review by backing British industry and creating hundreds more jobs, making defence an engine for growth across the UK.”
As part of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), DragonFire is the first high-power laser capability entering service from a European nation, representing one of the most advanced directed energy weapons programmes in NATO. The SDR backed UK Directed Energy Weapon work with a further investment of nearly £1 billion this Parliament alone.
MBDA UK will work in partnership with QinetiQ and Leonardo to develop the capability that will be delivered almost five years faster and be continuously improved, representing a fundamentally different rapid approach to defence procurement.
Chris Allam, MBDA UK Managing Director, said: “This latest contract for DragonFire is another significant milestone. It allows us to continue with the next phase of the programme and re-affirms the UK’s intent to be at the forefront of laser directed energy weapons. The success of recent DragonFire trials are a testament to our MoD and Industry team delivering a truly game-changing weapon system into the hands of the Royal Navy.”
