British troops test laser weapon as cheap option to fry drones

PARIS — British Army troops fired a high-energy laser from an armored vehicle for the first time, using beams of infrared light to destroy dozens of flying drones, in what may be a cost-effective way to address the threat of unmanned aerial systems, the Ministry of Defence said.

Soldiers from the U.K.’s 16th Regiment Royal Artillery, which specializes in providing air defense for ground troops, used the laser mounted on a Wolfhound armored personnel carrier to destroy drones at a variety of distances and speeds, the MoD said in a statement on Wednesday.

The ubiquity of drones over the battlefield in Ukraine, where infantry typically operates under a constant buzz of multiple UAVs overhead, has Western armies racing to find countermeasures. The U.S. Army in September tested laser-equipped Stryker combat vehicles to destroy drones, while France deployed a vehicle-mounted prototype anti-drone laser during the Paris Olympic Games.

“This is still an emerging technology, but the world has changed and we are seeing more use of drones in the battlespace,” said Stephen Waller, directed-energy weapons team leader at the MoD’s Defence Equipment & Support organization, or DE&S. “This requires a more cost-effective solution to protect our troops.”

Ukrainian troops are using thousands of drones every week, including first-person view drones that can cost as little as a few hundred dollars apiece but can be lethal when packed with explosives, while small commercial quadcopters costing a few thousand dollars are used for scouting and adjusting artillery.

The “virtually limitless” ammo supply of laser weapons could make them more cost-efficient than some alternatives, the MoD said. This year’s Eurosatory defense show in Paris featured counter-UAS measures ranging from cannons with airburst munitions to net-firing drones, rockets packed with metal balls, jammers and spoofers.

The British Army’s experimental laser weapon uses advanced sensors and tracking systems to maintain lock on target, according to the MoD, which has said the setup is fully portable and easy to operate. As part of its Land Laser Directed Energy Weapon Demonstrator program the ministry in July tested the laser on enemy drones at distances of more than 1 kilometer at its testing range in Porton Down.

“Having the capability to track and eliminate moving drones will give U.K. troops a better operational advantage and these successful trials have demonstrated that we are well on our way to achieving this,” Waller said.

The MoD will now assess the steps needed to develop laser weapons for future frontline use by the British Army, the ministry statement said.

The 16th Regiment Royal Artillery tested the laser, developed in cooperation between the Ministry of Defence and an industry consortium led by Raytheon UK, at Radnor Range in central Wales. The weapon is being developed under a £16.8 million (US$21.4 million) contract from the British government.

In the live test, the soldiers destroyed dozens of quadcopter drones within the constraints of the Radnor range, the MoD told Defense News, without providing details. Radnor, situated in a steep valley, features a 5-kilometer-long testing range for 40mm cannons and aerial countermeasures.

Every engagement using the laser weapon removed a drone from the sky, and what was notable was “how quick a drone can be taken out,” Warrant Officer Matthew Anderson, trials manager for the Army’s mounted close combat trials and development group, said in the statement.

The U.K. is working on other laser weapons, and earlier this year fired the DragonFire laser weapon against aerial targets for the first time. That weapon is being developed within a £100 million program with industry partners MBDA, Leonardo and QinetiQ, and the ministry said the technologies employed between the two weapon systems differ.

Firing the DragonFire laser typically costs less than £10 a shot, with both the Army and the Royal Navy considering the technology for future air defense, according to the MoD.