MBDA-led DragonFire’s latest trials move the LDEW system closer to UK Navy integration
The DragonFire laser-directed energy weapon is being developed for the Royal Navy’s Type 45 Daring-class destroyer. (Photo: Crown Copyright)
The DragonFire lines up with other European laser-directed energy weapons being developed in collaboration with MBDA.
After completing successful trials to shoot down high-speed drones, the MBDA-led DragonFire laser-directed energy weapon (LDEW) system has now been contracted by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to be delivered to the Royal Navy by 2027.
A £316 million (US$417 million) contract was confirmed on 20 November by the MoD, along with the announcement that the system had shot down drones in the MoD’s Hebrides range that were travelling at top speeds of 650km/h.
The DragonFire is set to be fitted to a Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer by 2027, a date which the MoD noted was five years
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