Defence groups bet big on drone-destroying laser weapons

Defence companies are accelerating plans to develop low-cost, high-energy laser weapons as militaries around the world look for ways to counter cheap new missile threats such as drones. 

Some of the world’s best-known contractors, including RTX in the US and Europe’s MBDA, as well as Britain’s QinetiQ, are investing heavily in the cutting-edge technology — long regarded as more science fiction than reality. 

The race to deploy the weapons, whose laser beams cut through metal and destroy electronics, has taken on new urgency as governments search for more cost-effective ways to tackle the proliferation of cheap drones and missiles.

Earlier this year, British and American ships were forced to fire multimillion dollar missiles to shoot down drones launched by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea. 

“It is ultimately not economically sustainable to shoot down a $100 or $1,000 drone with a $1mn plus interceptor,” said James Black, defence researcher at Rand Europe, a non-profit research institute. 

For decades, the US has been conducting research into so called “directed energy weapons” like lasers and high-powered microwave systems, most notably under Ronald Reagan’s “Star Wars” defence initiative. Although lasers have been used as rangefinders and to dazzle pilots on the battlefield, it is only now, with advances in computing, optical technologies and fibre optics, that countries are seeking to exploit them as effective weapons. 

Industry experts said the rise in unmanned aerial combat has highlighted the “cost asymmetry” facing military planners, where the cost of defence exceeds that of offence. Traditional interceptors such as the surface-to-air missiles launched by the US-built Patriot system have evolved to become “highly sophisticated systems-of-systems” which came at a price, said Black.

With thousands of low-cost drones being deployed in Ukraine every day, this threatens to “tip the cost asymmetry further away from the defender and in favour of the attacker”, he added. 

The US army earlier this year used high-energy lasers to shoot down drones in the Middle East in what was regarded as a milestone for the burgeoning industry. Other armies, including those in the UK, France, Russia, South Korea and China, have all been investing in the development of directed energy weapons. 

The UK’s Ministry of Defence said in April it would accelerate the development of its DragonFire laser. The weapon will now be deployed on Royal Navy ships by 2027 — five years earlier than originally planned.

DragonFire will be able to fire at any target visible in the air at around £10 a shot and with an accuracy equivalent to hitting a pound coin from a kilometre away, according to the MoD. It successfully fired at aerial targets during a groundbreaking test in January.

The industry team behind it, led by MBDA and including QinetiQ and Leonardo, admits that when they took the original contract seven years ago to develop a prototype laser, there was no guarantee of success.

“It was a moonshot . . . we didn’t know if we would get there at all,” said Mike Mew, tactical strike director at MBDA.

This year’s January test, he added, was a “European first in terms of getting a laser system of this powerclass and capability up and running”.

Subject to the defence review launched by the new Labour government, the MoD will invest £350mn in the accelerated programme by April 2027. 

The 150-strong team of engineers and scientists working on DragonFire across the three companies, said Mew, is now focusing on improving its reliability and robustness. The team also needs to figure out how to integrate it on to a ship.

The key technical challenge involved in delivering a laser lies in making sure that the beam maintains its accuracy for long enough to deliver its effect.

DragonFire’s prototype is rated to have a power output of 50kw — significantly more than other systems under development, according to experts. Its range is classified, but more power allows for greater range and impact on a larger target.

“You can produce the best laser in the world but [the challenge is to be able to] settle it on the aim point and hold it there for a few seconds,” said Paul Gray, head of business development for advanced weapons at QinetiQ.

Despite recent advances, industry experts said the use of laser weapons in the near-term is likely to remain limited. Lasers work in direct line of sight and their power and their range can be dramatically reduced by smoke or other pollutants in the atmosphere.

The weapons need to be operated from a “stable platform with access to a suitable power supply and in relatively benign weather conditions,” said Rand’s Black. 

Laser systems are also expensive to build. Noah Sylvia, research analyst at the Royal United Services Institute, said that despite the low price tag to operate, governments need to factor in the development costs. 

“If you’re spending millions of pounds to develop [it], then how much are you saving,” he said. 

Even when the technology is fully developed, experts said that laser weapons and other directed energy weapons should be seen as a complementary capability on the battlefield rather than a silver bullet.

They are “another tool in the toolkit,” said Black, as well as a “low-cost way of engaging certain targets and thereby freeing up other defensive systems for other high-value targets beyond [their] reach”.