Defence prime MBDA has contracted QinetiQ to develop and supply the laser source for its Dragonfire directed energy weapon (DEW) set to equip Royal Navy ships.
The programme is still on schedule to install the first Dragonfire system onto a Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer in 2027; MBDA won a £316 million deal to deliver the first Dragonfire weapons after successful trials in November last year at the QinetiQ-operated MoD Hebrides range.
The laser weapon is being developed to bolster the air defence capabilities of Royal Navy warships; DEWs potentially offer a more cost-effective and sustained method to defeat incoming drone attacks.
There are plans to fit the DragonFire system to four Daring-class Royal Navy destroyers by 2027 as a counter-UAS measure; an extra £1 billion investment in DEWs was announced as part of the Government’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) last year.
Earlier tests of the Dragonfire system reportedly saw the laser fire more than 300 times and disable 30 drones. The Dragonfire DEW is being developed by a consortium including QinetiQ, MBDA and Leonardo UK in conjunction with U.K. Ministry of Defence (MoD) research and development arm the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (dstl).
As per a QinetiQ press statement, the firm has been awarded a £67 million contract by MBDA “to continue its unique role in developing and producing the vital laser source of the DragonFire system.”
Group Chief Executive Officer Steve Wadey commented: “We are proud of the vital role we continue to play in delivering Europe’s leading laser weapon technology to our warfighters.
“This contract is a testament to QinetiQ’s expertise in developing, testing and engineering novel and disruptive technologies at pace, and is a welcome milestone as industry and government work together to accelerate the adoption of laser directed energy weapons.”
- You can read more details on the QinetiQ website