Britain’s ground-breaking DragonFire laser has shot down high-speed drones in new trials, as a £316 million contract is awarded to MBDA deliver new systems to the Royal Navy from 2027.

Its most recent trials at the MOD’s Hebrides range involved drones which can fly up to 650km/h – twice the top speed of a Formula 1 car – including a UK first of above-the-horizon tracking, targeting and shooting down such drones.

The laser system costs just £10 per shot and is accurate enough to hit a £1 coin from a kilometre away. It is a more cost-effective method in comparison to traditional missile systems, which cost upwards of hundreds of thousands of pounds per shot. DragonFire will be fitted to a Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer by 2027 – five years faster than originally planned.

The cutting-edge DragonFire laser will help to create and sustain 590 jobs across the UK, showing how defence is an engine for growth. This includes 200 highly skilled jobs in Scotland, 185 jobs in the South West of England and 75 jobs in the East of England, delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change.

Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard MP, said:

“This high-power laser will see our Royal Navy at the leading edge of innovation in NATO, delivering a cutting-edge capability to help defend the UK and our allies in this new era of threat.

“We are delivering on our Strategic Defence Review by backing British industry and creating hundreds more jobs, making defence an engine for growth across the UK.”

Richard Murray, DE&S Director Lethality & Protect, said:

“This contract with MBDA, off the back of hugely successful trials of the DragonFire demonstrator at MOD Hebrides, is a historic milestone on our journey to delivering the first ever operational laser weapon for UK Armed Forces.

“DragonFire’s ongoing development is an excellent example of how, by working together, we can harness the innovation and skills of our industry partners into what will be a world-leading capability for the Royal Navy.”

As part of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), DragonFire is the first high-power laser capability entering service from a European nation, representing one of the most advanced directed energy weapons programmes in NATO. The SDR backed UK Directed Energy Weapon work with a further investment of nearly £1 billion this Parliament alone.

MBDA UK will work in partnership with QinetiQ and Leonardo to develop the capability that will be delivered almost five years faster and be continuously improved, representing a fundamentally different rapid approach to defence procurement.

Chris Allam, MBDA UK Managing Director, said:

“This latest contract for DragonFire is another significant milestone. It allows us to continue with the next phase of the programme and re-affirms the UK’s intent to be at the forefront of laser directed energy weapons. The success of recent DragonFire trials are a testament to our MoD and Industry team delivering a truly game-changing weapon system into the hands of the Royal Navy.”

Steve Wadey, Group CEO, QinetiQ, said:

“The DragonFire programme is delivering the ambition of the Strategic Defence Review, with industry experts working in collaboration with government to get disruptive, next generation technology into the hands of our warfighters at pace.

“QinetiQ is proud to have played a unique role in developing and testing this critical military capability of the future. We welcome the government’s latest commitment, which will enable us to accelerate the production of the world-leading technology that is fundamental to the DragonFire system.”

Mark Stead, Leonardo UK SVP Radar and Advanced Targeting, said:

“Leonardo has channelled its decades of experience developing world-leading lasers to produce DragonFire’s beam director, which harnesses and directs the powerful laser energy on target. Today’s contract award to procure a Minimum Deployable Capability of DragonFire is testament to the hard work and dedication of all those involved in the programme, and the rapid progress made by the defence and industry partnership since its inception.”