Britain will invest 20 million pounds ($25 million) in developing new laser weapons to shoot down drones, the Ministry of Defence said on Monday, as NATO allies bolster defenses against potential conflict with Russia.
The new systems will complement the DragonFire laser weapons being installed on Royal Navy destroyers from 2027, officials said. The DragonFire system, which costs an estimated 10 pounds per shot, can defend against high-speed missiles and drones with enough precision to hit a one-pound coin from more than a mile away.
Military officials are exploring whether other types of lasers can be deployed by British forces, including systems that can be fired from armored land vehicles.
PART OF BROADER COUNTER-DRONE PUSH
The 20 million pound laser program is part of a wider 30 million pound funding allocation for counter-drone weapons from UK Defence Innovation (UKDI), a new organization established to invest in cutting-edge military technologies.
Another 112 million pounds is being spent on drone systems, including 25 million pounds for the Navy’s autonomous Excalibur submarine and 7.5 million pounds for the autonomous Proteus helicopter, UKDI said. The organization is supporting 20 small to medium-sized British firms, 11 microbusinesses and two academic institutions, though it declined to name all companies involved.
“After years of hollowing out and underfunding, I am determined to put Britain’s Armed Forces, and British businesses, at the leading edge of defence innovation,” Defence Secretary John Healey said in a statement.
UKRAINE WAR LESSONS
Healey said the Strategic Defence Review, published in June, emphasized the need to learn lessons from the war in Ukraine, prompting increased investment in drone and counter-drone systems.
“Russia’s continued bombardment of Ukrainian civilians and their grey-zone drone incursions across Europe show why this drone drive is so urgent,” Healey said. “In a new era of threat, this rapid investment will make the UK secure at home and strong abroad, while making defence an engine for growth.”
The British government launched UKDI in July with a ringfenced budget of 400 million pounds annually to spend on technologies including drones, lasers and quantum computing. The organization aims to create a single point of contact for companies and academics with defense innovation proposals.
The initiative comes as the Ukraine conflict forces militaries to accelerate weapons development and battlefield adaptation, with drone platforms being updated weekly in some cases. Russian drone incursions into European airspace this year have heightened concerns about so-called grey zone attacks.
Lasers, officially known as directed energy weapons, are viewed as potential low-cost alternatives to missiles for shooting down drones and incoming projectiles. The MoD awarded a 316 million pound contract to MBDA UK in November to deliver DragonFire systems to the Royal Navy, following successful tests in which the laser destroyed high-speed drones.
Under reforms announced in the Strategic Defence Review, the MoD is working to dramatically reduce procurement timelines for new military equipment.
