US EditionUK beefs up Royal Navy counter-drone tech with $413 million laser contract
The £316 million contract funds a laser system costing £10 per shot, able to target drones flying up to 650 km/h, enhancing Royal Navy defense by 2027.
- On Nov. 20, the U.K. Ministry of Defence said MBDA UK won a 316 million deal to supply the Royal Navy with the DragonFire laser, to be fitted on a Type 45 destroyer by 2027.
- With low-cost drones now ubiquitous, the U.K. Strategic Defence Review backed directed-energy weapons while European defence firms Rheinmetall and MBDA last month advanced naval laser demonstrators.
- In testing at the Hebrides range, Scotland, MBDA UK, working with QinetiQ and Leonardo, demonstrated aerial-target defeat, with drones flying up to 650 km/h, the MoD said.
- The programme will create and sustain 590 jobs across the U.K., the MoD said, and officials say the capability will strengthen Royal Navy drone defence as part of layered air-defence.
- The MoD said DragonFire will be the first high-power laser capability to enter service from a European nation, while MBDA's pan-European work and recent German demonstrators highlight growing naval laser weapons trends.
11 Articles
11 Articles
UK beefs up Royal Navy counter-drone tech with $413 million laser contract
Britain on Thursday awarded a 316-million-pound ($413 million) contract to missile company MBDA UK to provide DragonFire laser systems for the Royal Navy, under a plan to add new technology to ships to counter potential drone attacks.
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UK DragonFire DEW contract points to new way of warfare for Royal Navy
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has contracted MBDA UK to fit its DragonFire laser-based directed energy weapon (DEW) onto … mehr... The post UK DragonFire DEW contract points to new way of warfare for Royal Navy appeared first on European Security & Defence.
The Royal Navy r stands up: The new DragonFire laser system is designed to bring drones cost-effectively and pr hisse from the sky. With operating costs of only ten pounds per shot, the technology could change ship defense sustainably. (Continue reading)
In the United Kingdom, the Dragonfire high-power laser system (HEL) has been successfully subjected to a new shooting test campaign. At the same time, MBDA UK, which developed the system together with Leonardo UK and QinetiQ as well as DSL, the UK Department of Research and Development of Defense, has obtained from the UK Ministry of Defence (UK MoD) a contract worth £ 316 million, equal to about 358 million, for the supply of new operating syst…
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