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The UK Ministry of Defense (MoD) has published footage of its tests of the DragonFire long-range laser weapon.
The tests, which took place in January, marked the UK’s first high-power firing of a laser weapon against aerial targets. The range of DragonFire is classified, but it is a line-of-sight weapon and can engage with any visible target.
Laser-directed energy weapons can engage targets at the speed of light, and use an intense beam of light to cut through the target, leading to structural failure or more impactful results if the warhead is targeted. The MoD states that the precision required is equivalent to hitting a £1 coin from a kilometre away.
The short video, shared on the MoD’s LinkedIn account, includes graphics depicting how DragonFire can disable and take down unmanned systems.
DragonFire is led by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), on behalf of the UK MoD, working with its industry partners MBDA, Leonardo and QinetiQ. The MoD recently announced its intention to fund a multi-million-pound programme to transition the technology from the research environment to the battlefield.