The Laser Directional Energy Program (LDEW), managed by missile systems manufacturer MBDA, has successfully started a series of tests on the accuracy and power of the new Dragonfire laser weapon. It is a joint project of the Ministry of Industry and the UK Ministry of Defence, MBDA, Leonardo, QinetiQ and Dstl.

What is known about future weapons

• At the initial stage, the developers proved that the system can be successful even at low power. track air and sea targets with exceptionally high accuracy. The tracking systems reportedly use proprietary Dragonfire designs that no other company has. This test used a low-power QinetiQ laser, a Leonardo beam diverter, and MBDA image processing and control technology to provide the targeting and tracking precision required to deal damage using a powerful laser.
• The second stage deals testing a high-power laser in a static condition.
• Finally, in the third phase, which has apparently not yet begun, they will combine the results of the previous two and try it out. hit targets in practical scenarios. Probably, for this, drones will be launched into the sky, which the laser installation should hit.

The success of these tests is an important step in the development of a sovereign laser weapon for directional action. This is the result of a lot of hard work from both the industry and DSTL teams to overcome the disruptions caused by COVID and the technical challenges of using unique innovations in Dragonfire that are testing the limits of what is physically possible in the laser weapons industry. .
– says Chris Allam, director of MBDA.

The main task of the LDEW system is to safely control and focus a high-power laser at a certain point in space over a long distance.