DragonFire: UK laser could be used against Russian drones on Ukraine front line
A UK high-power laser weapon could be sent to Ukraine to take down Russian drones, the defence secretary says, BBC reports.
According to Grant Shapps, the weapon could have "huge ramifications" for the conflict in Europe.
The DragonFire weapon is expected to be rolled out by 2027, but Mr Shapps said he wanted to "speed up" production and make it available sooner.
It follows a successful trial of the laser, carried out against an aerial target for the first time in January.
The laser was originally expected to be operational by 2032, but new reforms intended to speed up government procurement of weapons mean that it will now be ready five years earlier.
Despite this, the defence secretary told reporters while on a visit of Porton Down military research centre near Salisbury that he wanted to speed this up even further.
"Let's say that it didn't have to be 100% perfect in order for Ukrainians perhaps to get their hands on it," he said.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) says the faster timetable comes in response to the "rapidly changing threat environment" faced by the UK.
"It's designed to not wait until we have this at 99.9% perfection before it goes into the field, but get it to sort of 70% and then get it out there and then develop it from there," Mr Shapps said.
The weapon is precise enough to hit a £1 coin from a kilometre away, according to the MoD. It is hoped that it will pave the way for a low-cost alternative to missiles, to shoot down targets such as drones.
