Cambridge radar technology in drone-destroying laser championed by British Army

The weapon was fired from an armoured vehicle for the first time and successfully destroyed flying drones.

It works by directing an intense beam of infra-red light in the form of energy towards its target using advanced sensors and tracking systems which maintain lock-on and accuracy in real time.

Unlike conventional munitions, laser weapons are virtually limitless in terms of ammunition supply, which means they could represent a cost-effective alternative to some current in-service weapons.

The laser was integrated onto a Wolfhound – a protected troop-carrying vehicle – where soldiers from 16 Royal Artillery were able to track and down hovering targets at Radnor Range in mid-Wales.

Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, Maria Eagle MP, said: “This groundbreaking technology demonstrates Britain’s commitment to staying at the forefront of military innovation.

“The successful testing of this laser weapon system represents a significant step forward in our development of possible future defence capabilities and showcases British engineering excellence.”

The laser has been developed through a collaboration between the MOD’s Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) and Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) – known as Team Hersa – and an industry consortium led by Raytheon UK.

The breakthrough delivers on the Government’s Plan for Change, by rapidly advancing technologies and building on the strong foundation of national security.

Warrant Officer Matthew Anderson, trials manager for the British Army’s Mounted Close Combat Trials and Development Group, said: “Every engagement we’ve done has removed a drone from the sky. While we’ve been testing a variety of distances, speeds and altitudes, one thing has remained – how quick a drone can be taken out.

“It’s definitely a capability that could be added to the arsenal of weapons that we use on the battlefield.”

The purpose of the capability demonstrator programme is to discover and test the potential future use of directed energy weapons by the British Army.

Having already been tested by engineers from MOD and industry, the latest experimentation by the British Army should provide knowledge, information and experience to support future requirement decisions, ensuring the UK stays at the forefront of this novel and disruptive technology.

As well as Raytheon, Fraser Nash, NP Aerospace, LumOptica, Blighter Surveillance Systems and Cambridge Pixel have been involved in developing the weapon under a £16.8 million contract awarded by Team Hersa.

UK MOD will take the learnings of the project into account and assess the necessary steps to develop Laser Directed Energy Weapons for frontline use by the British Army in the future.

Headquartered in the UK in Litlington near Royston, Cambridge Pixel is an expert in radar signal processing; Blighter is based in Great Chesterford and designs, manufactures and supports a range of unique, patented, solid state ground-based radar systems. Its radars can detect distant moving objects, day and night, in all weather conditions.