Britain says its DragonFire laser weapon could be a cheap and accurate air defense response to military drones.
The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense shared newly released footage of the weapon being tested at a remote archipelago off the coast of Scotland in January, Knewz.com has learned.
The latest images from the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense (MOD), released on March 11, show the impressive abilities of the laser weapon as it takes out an aerial target off the coast of Scotland. The cost per shot is estimated to be as low as $13. Currently air defense missiles cost millions of dollars each.
Knewz.com reported on the test in January.
In the newly released video, a spokesperson calls the system “a potential game changer for air defense.”
The weapon delivers “significant operational advantage by delivering enhanced air defense capabilities to the frontline, while reducing expendable ammunition costs and reducing risks of collateral damage,” Britain’s MOD said on the release of the new footage, Business Insider reported.
In a press release following the test in January, the U.K. Defense Ministry said that firing the laser for 10 seconds “is the cost equivalent of using a regular heater for just an hour. Therefore, it has the potential to be a long-term low-cost alternative to certain tasks missiles currently carry out.”
The country’s defense secretary, Grant Shapps, also weighed in on the development stating, “This type of cutting-edge weaponry has the potential to revolutionize the battlespace by reducing the reliance on expensive ammunition, while also lowering the risk of collateral damage.”
Billed as a laser-directed energy weapon (LDEW), the Defense Ministry says it was able to hit a coin from more than 1,000 yards away.
Unlike conventional bullets and missiles, the LDEW’s strobe can contact incoming projectiles – drones included – at the speed of light, and cutting through them, causing failure before they hit their intended targets.
The new footage also shows an animated hypothetical sequence with a Royal Navy ship using the DragonFire to destroy an enemy ship and three drones.
The weapons could potentially be a game changer when it comes to fending off drone attacks, particularly considering the uptick in the use of drones in the Russia-Ukraine war and the Houthi rebels using them to attack cargo ships in the war in the Middle East.
However, there are drawbacks.
In an op-ed in The Conversation, Iain Boyd, director for the center for national security initiatives, and professor of aerospace engineering sciences at the University of Colorado-Boulder said there were several problems. He stated that high-energy lasers need high levels of power to work from long distances, requiring “tens to hundreds of kilowatts of power in the laser beam,” that don’t exist yet.
Boyd also stated that high-energy lasers are at most 50% efficient and generate a “tremendous amount of waste heat that has to be managed.”
This, in turn, he noted, means they require high power generation and cooling infrastructure. In addition, he states that these weapons become less effective in rain, fog, and smoke, because these elements scatter laser beams.
And finally, Boyd stated, laser beams must remain locked on their targets for several seconds before they can be effective and that current prototypes are a challenge to maintain in combat zones.
The post UK’s DragonFire Laser: New Video Showcases Cutting-Edge Weaponry Capable of Destroying Drones at $13 a Pop appeared first on Knewz.
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Author: Kelly Hartog
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