For the first time ever, Britain recently conducted a successful test with its DragonFire high-powered laser weapon at aerial targets. The test of the Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) on the Ministry of Defense’s Hebrides Range was designed to demonstrate its power and accuracy.
How much it actually cost?
According to media reports, politicians in the UK are now hoping to speed up its deployment following growing attacks by Houthi rebels against ships in the Red Sea. “These trials have seen us take a huge step forward in realizing the potential opportunities and understanding the threats posed by directed energy weapons”, said Paul Hollings, the head and chief executive of the MoD’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.
The weapon cost about £100 million ($126 million) to develop and uses a highly concentrated energy beam that travels at the speed of light to take out targets, says the MoD. Details further reveal that the cost of firing it for 10 seconds is equivalent to using a regular heater for just an hour, the cost of operating the laser is typically less than $13 a shot.
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To be effective, it must concentrate its high-power beam typically for around ten seconds on the same spot as the tracking system requires precision equivalent to hitting a pound coin from a kilometer away, causing the target to break up or, if the laser focuses on, say, a missile warhead, to cause it to detonate.
It cannot be fitted to existing Royal Navy ships, but it could be installed on those currently under construction such as Type 26 or 31 frigates, while the Army is looking at fitting it to some of its amour to take out enemy aerial threats.
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