DragonFire: The Navy’s drone-killing laser that’s cheap to fire and deadly accurate
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The Royal Navy will soon be fitting a laser directed energy weapon called DragonFire to four of its warships.
Scientists who developed the system say it has the potential to transform the UK’s air defence capability.
The weapon uses an intense beam of light to destroy targets with pinpoint accuracy and can hit an object the size of a £1 coin from a kilometre away.
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Currently, conventional missiles would be used to take on a drone threat.
But they take time to launch and can cost thousands of pounds per strike.
The DragonFire system is much cheaper to fire, at just £10 a shot, with the added advantage that ships can continue firing as long as they have access to power.
In tests, DragonFire has shown it can burn through drones, mortar rounds and even brick walls.
It can now generate more than 50kW of power as the system has been developed further since it was first announced in 2023.
That makes it less powerful than similar systems used by other nations, such as the new Israeli Iron Beam, which is due to enter service later this year, or the American Helios system, which currently fires between 60 and 120kW.
And the US has even more powerful systems in development.
Superior targeting
But experts say the UK’s DragonFire system can offer superior targeting, while work continues to create a more powerful version.
Laser weapons have already been trialled in the UK on land – 16 Regiment Royal Artillery has experimented with firing a laser fitted to a Wolfhound troop carrier.
The Gunners were able to successfully shoot multiple drones out of the sky, giving a taste of what a laser weapon could potentially do when used on a warship.
Four ships to receive the DragonFire system
Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard has announced four Royal Navy warships are set to be kitted out with the DragonFire laser weaponry thanks to £2.2bn of defence funding.
In an interview with BFBS Forces News, he said that while he could not confirm which ships would be getting DragonFire, the plan is to have them in place by 2027.