England opened fire on air targets with its new weapon, the powerful Dragonfire laser. Despite the press release issued by the UK Ministry of Defense after the end of the tests, no further details were given about the new installation. Information about it is classified, as before, at least in terms of scope of action. Experts believe that this laser can be a cheap alternative to anti-aircraft missiles. With its help, it will be possible to shoot down drones, for example.

Modern anti-aircraft missiles effectively destroy air targets. But there are a number of problems with this type of ammunition. First of all, the stock is limited: missile complexes have to be reloaded after a number of ammunition is exhausted, which causes loss of time, especially valuable in combat conditions. Secondly, missiles are very expensive: the price of one piece can reach several million dollars. Third, expensive missiles usually have to be spent on shooting down small, cheap kamikaze drones, the cost of which does not exceed several tens of thousands of dollars.

A good alternative to such ammunition is lasers, which have many advantages. Unlike anti-aircraft missiles, which have a limited attack speed and altitude, each “shot” of the laser air defense system flies at the speed of light and is much higher than the missile. In addition, laser weapons can hit many targets with minimal pauses, and in some cases the price of a shot from such an installation costs no more than a cup of coffee (one shot of Israel’s Iron Beam laser system costs two US dollars). dollar).

Leading military powers have been developing laser weapons since the middle of the last century. Today it is in Israel, China and the USA. For example, laser air defense is installed on some American destroyers. But for some reason, the US does not shoot down Houthi drones with it, instead using missiles (some industry observers believe that the Americans have not yet mastered such systems). Laser air defense has recently appeared in Great Britain. Installation under name dragon fire (“Fire-breathing dragon”) was tested by the British army on January 19 at a training range in the Hebrides Mountains in Scotland: the laser worked successfully against air targets.

first prototype dragon fire Shown at arms exhibition in 2017 DSEI-2017 In London. Since then the British government has been reluctant to share information about the new development, but something is known about it.

dragon fire — Joint invention of Europe’s leading missile system manufacturer MBDA (Matra BAE Dynamics Alenia) And dstl (Defense Science and Technology Laboratory). The main part of the installation is a combat “tower” used to generate a laser beam with an emitter QinetiQ. The possible power of the laser is 50 kilowatts.

According to the British Ministry of Defence, the laser installation uses dozens of optical fibers as the pumping medium and these are combined into a single beam using a special system developed in Britain. However, most of the technical details of the project remain secret.

In addition to being used against surface and air targets, including drones, the facility is also required to thwart artillery attacks, including ground attacks. In the “Fire-breathing Dragon” tower, the technology of electronic-optical identification and support of targets was implemented. The image of the captured target is displayed on a special screen, and then its parameters, escort and destruction options are determined.

Action range dragon fire also classified. The gun has an accuracy that allows you to hit a one-pound coin (23.03-23.43 millimeters in diameter and 2.8 millimeters thick) from a distance of one kilometer. According to the Ministry of Defense, operation in 10 seconds dragon fire It consumes the same amount of energy per hour as a normal home heater. If so, the power of the “Fire-breathing dragon” is significantly higher than the previously estimated 50 kilowatts (the power of home heaters is normally more than a kilowatt, and 10 seconds is 1/360 of an hour). .

The cost per ‘shot’ is less than £10 (almost US$13).

Defense Secretary Grant Shepps said: “Such advanced weapons will revolutionize the military, reducing reliance on expensive ammunition and reducing the risk of collateral damage.”Grant Shapp).

The head of the department also said that the tests to be carried out at the test site in the Hebrides Mountains in Scotland will be an important step towards putting the technology into service.