Understand how lasers can revolutionize the way militaries combat enemy missiles and drones

The United Kingdom this week showed off a new laser weapon that its military says could provide lethal defense against missiles or aircraft for around $13 per shot – potentially saving tens of millions of dollars in relative to the cost of the missile interceptors that do the job today.

Recently released video of a test of what the UK Ministry of Defense calls DragonFire a laser directed energy weapon (LDEW) system, captured what the ministry says was the successful use of the laser against an aerial target during a January demonstration in Scotland.

“It’s a potential game-changer for air defense,” the video says as a bright laser beam pierces the night sky over a shooting range in the remote Hebrides archipelago, creating a ball of light as it hits its target.

The Ministry of Defense claims that DragonFire can accurately hit a target as small as a coin “at long distances”, but did not give details.

The weapon's exact range is confidential, he said.

The laser beam can cut through metal “leading to structural failure or more impactful results if the warhead is targeted,” a statement from the UK Ministry of Defense said. And it also claims that it also destroys its targets at a small fraction of the cost of current air defense missiles.

The Ministry of Defense estimated the price of firing a 10-second laser blast at around US$13 (R$65). In contrast, the Standard Missile-2 used by the United States Navy for air defense costs more than US$2 million (R$9.9 million) per shot.

“It has the potential to be a long-term, low-cost alternative to certain tasks that missiles currently perform,” said a January statement from the UK Ministry of Defense.

The cost of air defense missiles has become a hot topic in defense circles in recent years, as low-cost drones have demonstrated their effectiveness on battlefields in Ukraine and in Houthi rebel attacks on commercial and military ships in Ukraine. Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Analysts have questioned how long the US, UK and their partners can continue using multimillion-dollar missiles against Houthi drones, which can, in some cases, be purchased for well under $100,000.

However, Western allies' expensive air defense systems have been crucial to Ukraine's ability to defend itself from Russian missile and drone attacks.

“Low-cost drones and rockets have changed the economic calculus of attack and defense in favor of those that use large volumes of cheap unmanned systems and munitions to overwhelm the most sophisticated air and missile defenses,” James Black, assistant director of defense and security think tank RAND Europe, wrote in a blog in January.

DragonFire could help reverse that calculation in the UK's favor, Black said.

“This type of cutting-edge weaponry has the potential to revolutionize the battlefield by reducing reliance on expensive munitions,” UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapp said in January following the DragonFire test.

Without proof and with limitations

But Black and others note that lasers like the DragonFire are not yet proven on the battlefield and will have limitations.

Writing for The Conversation last month, Iain Boyd, director of the Center for National Security Initiatives at the University of Colorado, highlighted some problems with lasers.

Rain, fog and smoke scatter the light beams and reduce their effectiveness; laser weapons release a lot of heat, so they require large cooling systems; mobile lasers, mounted on ships or aircraft, will require battery recharges; and the lasers must remain locked on moving targets for up to 10 seconds to burn holes in them, Boyd said.

The British are not the first to develop a laser capable of shooting down an aerial target. In 2014, the US Navy successfully tested and deployed a laser weapons system on the USS Ponce in the Persian Gulf.

The system was capable of engaging drones, small aircraft and small vessels.

In 2020 and 2021, the US Navy tested a more advanced laser system on the USS Portland. In 2022, a laser system was installed on the guided missile destroyer USS Preble.

That system is still in testing, Rear Adm. Fred Pyle, director of the Navy's Surface Warfare Division, said at a symposium in January, according to Breaking Defense.

Also in 2022, the US Navy successfully tested a high-energy laser system against a target representing a cruise missile.

But a Navy account of that test said there were no plans to put it in the hands of warfighters, adding that it “offers a glimpse into the future of laser weapons.”

A 2023 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office noted the Pentagon's success in testing laser weapons but said it needs to do more to get them to troops, including figuring out their exact missions and acquisition strategies.

“The Department of Defense has long noted a gap – sometimes called the “valley of death” – between its development and acquisition communities that impedes technology transition,” the Cabinet report said.

But British defense leaders say there is a new imperative to get lasers onto the modern battlefield and there is no time to waste in doing so.

“In a world of evolving threats, we know our focus must be on achieving warfighter capability and we will look to accelerate this next phase of activity,” Shimon Fhima, director of strategic programs at the UK Ministry of Defense, said in a statement.