LWI - Land Warfare
UK to assess laser weapon potential
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is set to embark on a high energy laser demonstration programme, with a £30 million contract being finalised with an industrial team, UK Dragonfire, led by MBDA. MBDA made the announcement on 16 September in a company statement.
The contract will see the team carry out the Laser Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) Capability Demonstrator programme. The programme will mature the key technologies for a high energy defensive laser weapon system and will culminate in the engagement of representative targets in land and maritime environments in a 2019 demonstration. It will also provide the body of evidence for future procurement decisions.
Led by MBDA, the UK Dragonfire consortium includes QinetiQ and Leonardo-Finmeccanica, with support from GKN, Arke, BAE Systems and Marshall ADG.
The UK Dragonfire proposal builds on MoD and industry investment in the areas of laser coherent beam combining, weapon systems command and control, advanced pointing systems and high power storage.
Dave Armstrong executive group director technical and UK managing director, MBDA, said: ‘Under MBDA’s lead, UK Dragonfire will put the UK at the forefront of high energy laser systems, capitalising on the experience of joint MoD/industry working in the complex weapons environment. Furthermore it advances the UK towards a future product with significant export potential, as well as providing opportunities for partnerships with other nations’ armed forces that have similar requirements.’
More from Land Warfare
-
Insight: Are Ukraine's new vehicle plans really feasible?
Last month, Ukrainian industry announced ambitious plans to develop a brand-new IFV for the country's military that could contribute towards the force's modernisation and bolster ...
-
Colt progresses on Canada's new GPMG
Colt Canada is in the process of finalising production and testing of low-rate versions of the C6A1 FLEX for the Canadian Army’s replacement General Purpose ...
-
Australia awards three defence contracts
The Australian Army, in partnership with the Defence Innovation Hub, has awarded three contracts worth a combined $2.2 million for the development of new defence ...
-
Patriot maintenance delays hindering US Army training
At a time when potential US threats could quickly increase the demand for Patriot surface-to-air missile systems, maintenance delays are hampering solider training. In a ...
-
Philippine Army awards sizeable M113 upgrade
As expected, Elbit Systems has won a government-to-government contract to upgrade 49 M113 APCs for the Philippine Army. Forty-four of these will receive a Dragon ...
-
Knight's new 5.56mm LAMG enters LRIP
Knight's Armament Company's (KAC) new 5.56x45mm NATO Light Assault Machine Gun (LAMG) has now entered low-rate production, with larger calibre variants expected soon. Sources at ...