British Army zaps drones out of the sky with laser trucks
High-energy weapon proves its mettle in testing
The British Army has successfully destroyed flying drones for the first time using a high-energy laser mounted on an armored vehicle. If perfected, the technology could form an effective counter-measure against drone attacks.
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced that soldiers from 16 Royal Artillery had conducted tests against flying targets – although the word it used was "hovering" – at the Radnor Range in mid-Wales.
This latest development follows the first firing of the laser weapon from a British Army combat vehicle at a Porton Down firing range, operated by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), earlier this year.
In that instance, the 15-kilowatt infrared laser was found to be capable of "neutralizing" targets at distances greater than 1 km. In both tests, the weapon was mounted on a Wolfhound, a six-wheel armored truck operated by the army as part of its Tactical Support Vehicles (TSV) group.
According to defense contractor Raytheon, which is part of the trials, this was the latest stage of the MoD's Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) demonstrator program involving its High-Energy Laser Weapon System (HELWS), and soldiers successfully tracked and neutralized – that word again – moving aerial targets.
Russia's war against Ukraine has demonstrated that tanks are vulnerable to attack from drones, and armed forces around the world are rushing to develop countermeasures. Energy weapons such as lasers are regarded as a reasonable solution as these can continue to fire for as long as there is sufficient power, whereas guns run out of ammunition and missiles are soon used up.
"This is still an emerging technology, but the world has changed and we are seeing more use of drones in the battlespace. This requires a more cost-effective solution to protect our troops," said Stephen Waller, Directed Energy Weapons Team Leader for the MoD's Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) agency.
"Having the capability to track and eliminate moving drones will give UK troops a better operational advantage and these successful trials have demonstrated that we are well on our way to achieving this," he added.
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We asked the MoD when we can expect to see laser-equipped combat vehicles in service with the British Army, and a spokesperson told us this is just a capability demonstrator, intended to provide an understanding of laser technology and how it may be implemented as a deployable capability.
However, in its announcement, the MoD said that it will "take the learnings of the project into account and assess the necessary steps to develop Laser Directed Energy Weapons for frontline use by the British Army in the future."
The army isn't the only part of UK military trying to get in on the laser action. The Royal Navy has its own DragonFire program to develop a laser for its upcoming Type 26 frigates sometime in the early 2030s to protect against threats such as drones.
The Royal Air Force has also tested a laser self-protection system with the intention of fitting it to aircraft such as the A400M Atlas transport, and there has also been talk about the future Tempest fighter being equipped with lasers.
All of these projects are under the purview of the MoD's DSTL, which appears to be a very busy organization. ®