UK’s DragonFire Laser Takes Down High-Speed Drones in Latest Test

On November 20, 2025, Britain’s DragonFire laser focused drones flying via the air at 650 km/h, twice the pace of a Components One automobile alongside Scotland’s Hebrides Vary, and introduced them down with precision. Engineers from MBDA, QinetiQ, and Leonardo watched as their brainchild labored its magic as soon as extra, figuring out, monitoring, and disabling objects that resembled the fast-moving risks already widespread on the battlefield. DragonFire is 5 years forward of schedule and one step nearer to being deployed on Royal Navy ships.

Excessive-speed drones are a nightmare for contemporary militaries, zipping in low and shortly to overwhelm defenses with numbers. Conventional missiles, for all their efficiency, burn via budgets like dry tinder, with a single launch costing a whole bunch of 1000’s of kilos. DragonFire flips the equation on its head. Every pulse of its high-power laser prices solely £10, which is a fraction of the price and supplies pinpoint accuracy. Operators can hit one thing as little as a £1 coin from a kilometer distant, with no engine roar or smoke trails. In these Scottish skies, the laser corrected for the drones’ pace, altering in actual time to hit them in midair. Success like that sends reverberations via NATO headquarters, the place companions are watching the UK’s progress with envy and urgency.

DJI Neo, Mini Drone with 4K UHD Camera for Adults, 135g Self Flying Drone that Follows You, Palm Takeoff,…

• As a result of platform compatibility concern, the DJI Fly app has been faraway from Google Play. DJI Neo have to be activated within the DJI Fly App, to make sure a…
• Light-weight and Regulation Pleasant – At simply 135g, this drone with digicam for adults 4K could also be even lighter than your cellphone and doesn’t require FAA…
• Palm Takeoff & Touchdown, Go Controller-Free [1] – Neo takes off out of your hand with only a push of a button. The protected and straightforward operation of this drone…

Picture credit score: Crown Copyright
Engineers invested a long time of data into this tools, starting with Leonardo’s beam director, which directs the uncooked vitality to the goal. QinetiQ supplied the take a look at vary, placing the system via quite a few simulations of turbulent seas and unpredictable enemy trajectories. MBDA tied all of it collectively, making certain that the laser may experience easily on a tossing Sort 45 destroyer. One notable breakthrough was above-the-horizon focusing on. Lasers transfer in straight traces, due to this fact the Earth’s curvature used to restrict their visibility from the deck. DragonFire, which is now linked to radars on ships, planes, and even distant networks, can stare over the horizon, recognizing and putting enemy who’re hiding simply past sight. Trials revealed that it completed this with ease, a refined reference to how far directed vitality has progressed for the reason that early prototypes failed within the lab.

Picture credit score: Crown Copyright
Luke Pollard, Minister for Defence Readiness and Trade, wasn’t holding again. “This excessive energy laser will put our Royal Navy on the forefront of innovation in NATO,” he mentioned. “A leading edge functionality to assist defend the UK and our allies on this new period of risk.” His phrases had been backed up by a brand new £316m contract with MBDA that places manufacturing into gear. Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander added, “This can be a defence dividend for my area the place 200 new expert jobs will likely be created from this deal.” Chris Allam, MBDA’s UK managing director, referred to as it a “massive milestone”, proof that authorities and trade working collectively can get recreation altering functionality to sailors who want it now.
[Source]