The UK government says Ukraine will become a huge testing ground for a revolutionary new laser weapon that, if successful, promises to fundamentally change the economy of war.
Britain’s “flagship” Dragonfire laser was successfully tested at an army firing range in Scotland earlier this year. Now, defense procurement rules are being changed to expedite deployment by five years, and possibly on the front lines in Ukraine even sooner. UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps has said the deployment of anti-aircraft lasers on Royal Navy warships will be brought forward by a full five years, from 2032 to 2027, but revealed action could still begin sooner. .
Speaking during a visit to the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), Mr Shapps said: “You can probably say that it didn’t have to be 100 percent perfect for the Ukrainians to get it.” Regarding deployment on British warships, he also said it would be better to wait 10 years to reach “99.9 per cent” but to conduct field trials and learn from real-world experience when the technology is “70 per cent” complete. completion.
A powerful laser weapon will be added. #British NavyThe arsenal of…
The state-of-the-art DragonFire laser will be installed on warships by 2027, adding to an already powerful air defense arsenal to counter the growing threat of drones and missiles.
▶️ https://t.co/I29Q1mjX4G pic.twitter.com/101DcgTsYw
— Royal Navy (@RoyalNavy) April 12, 2024
Shapps Said The statement says:[Dragonfire is] Britain’s first laser weapon. Being able to shoot down drones and missiles with incredible precision could revolutionize the way wars are fought. And this isn’t an idea that’s decades away; it’s being built now to be installed on warships in just three years. ”
The innovative aspect of this weapon, beyond obviously being a laser weapon, is how inexpensive it is. Currently, shooting down missiles and drones over Ukraine is an extremely expensive undertaking, with Patriot missile batteries costing $1 billion each, and each shot-down attempt costing $4 million of missiles to fly empty. is fired. In contrast, the Dragonfire laser is said to cost only around £10 ($12) in electricity per shot.
If successful, this would fundamentally change the economic balance of the war, as seen in Ukraine. For example, Russia could blanket Ukraine with cheap, mass-produced explosive drones that cost just tens of thousands of dollars each, but would need to be shot down with missiles that cost hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. . If Ukraine could shoot down a drone with a $12 energy burst, this form of attrition warfare would become less attractive.
⚡ British laser weapons technology is closer than we think@Defense Headquarters Announcing the cutting edge #Dragon fire #laser turns on @British Navy Warships will be available from 2027!
We are extremely proud to have played a role in bringing about this transformation #technology From concept to realityhttps://t.co/4WFGpWVo2G pic.twitter.com/YZG1x1DjhN
— QinetiQ Group (@QinetiQ) April 12, 2024
The UK government claims that although Dragonfire is limited to line-of-sight, it is suitable for the level of precision needed to hit a “coin up to a kilometer away” with a “powerful beam”. It is claimed that the beam “can penetrate the target and cause structural failure or more serious consequences if the warhead is targeted.” Demonstrations displayed by DSTL include a melted commercial drone and a burnt hole from a mortar shell.
Overall, it is claimed that the weapon system “could represent a long-term, low-cost alternative to certain missions currently performed by missiles, such as shooting down attack drones.”
Dragonfire is not the only new British system that could be rushed to Ukraine early for real-world testing. times Note Similar treatment has been given to another directed energy weapon, Project Ealing. invested funds at the same time It will arrive in 2021 as Dragonfire. The “high frequency weapon” is likened to his science fiction device in the movie. oceans 11aimed at knocking out power and digital equipment and eliminating drones using focused energy beams.
Similar systems are already used in Ukraine by the Russian and Ukrainian militaries, but it is unclear how much of a step change Project Ealing represents in this technology. said Matt Koch, DSTL energy weapons expert. times: “Simply turning things off when you choose to turn them off creates the potential for real problems. [the enemy] Stop trusting your equipment. It introduces an element of doubt into your ability to use the equipment when you need to use it. ”
Russia has some success in interfering with Western advanced guided bombs, Pentagon leak says https://t.co/Vxbz3bjVHO
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) April 14, 2023
The change in the speed of British defense procurement to get experimental weapons onto the battlefield more quickly is clearly seen as the conflict most relevant to the future plans of Western military officers and politicians, with the Ukraine war itself It reflects the pace of development. Most widely discussed is the rapid development of drone warfare, low-cost guided munitions that, when combined with satellite navigation kits, take advantage of the large inventories of Cold War-era “dumb” bombs held by both sides. is also constantly evolving. rudimentary wings.
Ukraine has JDAM-ER, an idea that is already 30 years old, but Russia is learning its own version, JDAM-ER, on the fly. UMPK. As reported this week, the Russian version is abundant and powerful because it can be mounted on conventional free-fall bombs up to 1,500 kg (33,000 lb) and turned into rudimentary guided weapons, and its effectiveness is already It is felt on the battlefield. guardian state About 500 of them were dropped during the week and “played a significant role in the destruction.” [the eastern city of] Avdiivka and the seizure of its ruins by Russia”.
Regarding glide bombs, which Russian bombers can “drop” up to 37 miles away from their targets, the newspaper quoted a Ukrainian source as saying, “Russia uses UMPC bombs primarily to attack targets in forward areas. “to minimize the possibility of their own bombing.” The aircraft was attacked by Ukrainian air defenses. ” They are successful because they are very large in number, able to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defense in any field, and are relatively difficult to shoot down compared to missiles.
However, Ukraine has developed its own methods of defeating UMPK, using drone strikes to attack Russian military airfields, sometimes relatively deep inside Russia, and heavy bombs modified from kits never leaving the ground. Try not to fall. By the time it was carried to the battlefield on the wing of a Russian bomber, it was already too late.
Drone attacks on Moscow and Kiev overnight; Ukraine claims 6 fighter jets destroyed at Russian air base https://t.co/XHEhoOXXgH
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) April 5, 2024
