UK considers laser-equipped Phalanx
The UK could test a Phalanx close-in weapon system equipped with a directed-energy weapon capability, with the first demonstrations potentially taking place in 2018.
The laser-equipped Phalanx is just one of several directed-energy weapons currently under consideration as part of a capability demonstration programme being funded by the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL).
According to industry, a decision on which company will supply technology for DSTL’s Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) programme is due ‘imminently’.
An invitation to tender (ITT) document was released earlier this year and several companies have responded, with those proposals now in assessment. Companies
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