"The Ministry of Defence says it has signed a £316 million ($413 million) contract with weapons developer MBDA UK to deliver the DragonFire systems to the Royal Navy from 2027. This should make it the first high-power laser to enter service with any European nation. It will initially be fitted to Type 45 destroyers, the Navy's air defense ships, rather than the Type 26 frigates, as previously planned."
"According to the MoD, DragonFire was able to shoot down high-speed drones during its most recent trials at a test site in the Hebrides, which in this case means targets capable of flying up to 650 km/h. This was a UK first for above-the-horizon tracking, targeting, and destroying such drones with a laser weapon, it said - although the British Army announced at the end of last year that it had successfully destroyed flying drones using a high-energy laser mounted on an armored vehicle."
Britain's Royal Navy will have the DragonFire laser weapon fitted to ships by 2027, five years earlier than planned. The Ministry of Defence signed a £316 million contract with MBDA UK to deliver the systems, creating the first high-power laser expected in European service. DragonFire will be fitted initially to Type 45 destroyers instead of Type 26 frigates because the frigates are still being built and HMS Glasgow enters service in 2028. Trials in the Hebrides demonstrated shooting down high-speed drones flying up to 650 km/h and achieved above-the-horizon tracking and targeting. The capability offers a cheaper counter to explosive-laden drones that can overwhelm ships by depleting missile stocks.
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