A high-energy laser weapon has been fired by the British Army from an armoured vehicle for the first time and successfully destroyed flying drones, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) says.
The system directs an intense beam of infra-red light in the form of energy towards its target using sensors and tracking systems which maintain lock-on and accuracy in real time. For the test, 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-Waleso
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. As well as Raytheon, Fraser Nash, NP Aerospace, LumOptica, Blighter Surveillance Systems and Cambridge Pixel have been involved in developing the weapon under a GBP16.8 million contract awarded by Team Hersa.
Pour en savoir plus : British Army fires drone-destroying laser demo weapon from armoured vehicle