Last Friday, April 12, British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps announced plans to provide Ukraine with the DragonFire laser weapon system, which is currently still in testing, and is designed to intercept drones and even ballistic missiles.
The British government is interested in killing two birds with one stone: helping our country by demonstrating solidarity, and also testing the new product in real combat conditions.
How many DragonFire prototypes can Ukraine get?
They will bring you to test
Grant Shapps, speaking recently with British journalists, emphasized the desire to accelerate the process of introducing such weapons into the arsenal of the British navy and army, aiming at a significant reduction in the originally planned time frame. According to him, the government intends to integrate the DragonFire system into its armed forces by 2027, but in the context of the current conflict in Europe caused by Russian aggression against Ukraine, the possibility of sending prototypes to Ukraine ahead of schedule is being considered, even if they are not will be finalized.
“The goal is 2027, but I want to look at every aspect of this process. Now there is a real conflict in Europe (Russian aggression against Ukraine), to resolve which we have unique modern weapons that may be useful,” The Daily Telegraph quoted the British minister as saying.
It is clear that the decision to transfer the latest developments to Ukraine is dictated not only by the desire to help us repel missile and drone attacks in a situation of shortage of missiles for air defense systems. The British government, military commanders and representatives of the military-industrial complex are interested in testing DragonFire in real combat conditions against Russian missiles and UAVs.
“It is already clear that no one will wait until 2027. In the foreseeable future, we may be given one or at most two DragonFire installations, along with British scientists who will work with it. The weapons will most likely be placed at a distance from the front line: somewhere in the central or even western regions, and during attacks all this will be tested against the maximum range of Russian missiles and drones,” military expert Ivan Stupak noted in a commentary to Apostrophe.
DragonFire is a laser beam-based system that effectively shoots down aerial targets such as drones and missiles. A special feature of this system is its invisibility and noiselessness, thanks to the use of a light wavelength of about one micron, which makes the laser beam invisible to the human eye and brings it closer to the infrared spectrum.
DragonFire has an ultra-fast operating speed equal to the speed of light, although its range is still classified. According to the stated indicators, the system is capable of instantly heating metal surfaces with a beam to a temperature of 3000 degrees Celsius, turning the metal into plasma and burning through sheet metal, fuselage and other types of weapons in just a few seconds.
The weapon is not only effective, but also economical: the cost of one shot is only 10 pounds sterling, which is equivalent to approximately 12 dollars.
Where to get energy?
The plan is to initially install DragonFire on board British warships, before deploying the systems on land. The ground version of the laser will be mounted on a cargo vehicle and serve as an air defense system.
“Here is one of the main key points: DragonFire and similar laser systems consume large amounts of energy. That is why they were originally designed for relatively large warships equipped with a powerful power plant. If they are used essentially on a mobile base, then you will also have to provide a powerful generator. Placing DragonFire near a large generating facility (for example, a thermal power plant) is dangerous, since the system can be identified and attacked along with the power plant itself,” missile weapons expert and political analyst Alexander Kochetkov explained to Apostrophe.
After the initial installation, British Army experts will analyze how the system can be improved and identify potential shortcomings.
Scientists at the Porton Down Defense Laboratory (DSTL) and experts from relevant industries are actively working to take these laser weapons from the laboratory experiment stage to the stage ready for combat use. The weapon operates by focusing 37 laser beams with a power of 1.5 kW each, which are arranged in a hexagonal lattice and amplified by mirrors. This results in a constructive interference phenomenon that significantly increases the overall power of the system.
Senior laser physicist at the British defense laboratory DSTL Tim Kendall, who played a key role in the development of the DragonFire laser weapon, described it as a device capable of creating a “perfect laser beam.” Said beam can be directed through a telescopic lens to improve accuracy and efficiency.
In testing using a specially designed guidance system and high-quality components, the weapon successfully destroyed drones and caused mortar shells to explode within five seconds.
DragonFire is expected to be able to hit drones much cheaper than traditional interceptor missiles, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The system was specifically designed to combat drones, but Grant Shapps also noted that the system is powerful enough to deal with faster targets such as ballistic missiles, not just UAVs.
Anything will suit us
Although the technology is not yet ready for combat use, Minister Shapps confirmed that discussions are underway with military experts about the possibility of quickly introducing DragonFire during military conflicts that are already taking place.
The Ukrainian command is still cautious about commenting on the prospects for modern British developments, noting that the effectiveness of laser weapons is still worth assessing. At the same time, as the representative of the Ukrainian Air Force Ilya Yevlash noted during a telethon last Saturday, our country needs any air defense systems, including experimental ones, to repel Russian attacks.
“Any air defense systems, in particular experimental ones, are necessary to combat Russian missiles and drones that the enemy launches into Ukraine. However, it is still difficult to say how effective they are,” said Ilya Yevlash.
He also pointed out the importance of maintaining confidentiality in matters of the use of new weapons, noting that the Ukrainian military-political leadership can discuss this topic, but the details must remain secret.
Certain restrictions
“It is clear that the British sincerely want to help us, but they objectively do not have the warehouses and arsenals that the States have, so now London is trying to kill two birds with one stone: to give us a helping hand and at the same time test a new laser product. The last aspect is of great importance, since theory may differ from practice. We already had experience when we received new Western UAVs with artificial intelligence, but in real combat conditions it turned out that drones made from relatively cheap Chinese components performed better,” says Alexander Kochetkov.
In addition, despite the significant capabilities of laser weapons, their effectiveness can be limited by weather conditions. Thus, in rain or fog conditions, laser systems may be ineffective. However, this does not detract from their potential significance in changing the situation on the battlefield.
Since the end of the last century, many countries, including the USA, Russia, Great Britain, China, France, Germany, Turkey (with the Alka project) and Israel (with the Iron Beam system), have been actively developing laser weapons. These efforts are aimed at improving technologies that could radically change military strategies.
According to the provisions of the Geneva Convention, the use of directed energy weapons against humans is prohibited, therefore the main area of use of combat lasers is the fight against drones, satellites and robotic systems.
For example, in the fall of 2022, the German Navy announced the first use of high-power laser weapons to neutralize drones. Similar reports came from the United States, as well as from Russia, which in the spring of 2022 claimed the “successful” use of a combat laser against a Ukrainian drone. However, the US defense department denied these statements, pointing out the lack of evidence of Russia's use of this type of weapon against the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
Despite the obvious failures and revelations of Russian fakes, the Kremlin at the highest level is raving about the use of “combat lasers” and combat robots equipped with “artificial intelligence.” Vladimir Putin, who leads the country from his bunker, last December at a meeting of the board of the Russian Ministry of Defense expressed his demand to “continue work on the creation of promising developments for the army and navy,” aiming at the strategic future of the armed forces.
“I mean robotic systems and combat lasers, weapons using artificial intelligence technologies and based on new physical principles,” Putin said.
So far, everything is going to the point that while the Kremlin is inventing fables, Ukraine may be at least one step ahead of the aggressor country in terms of ultra-modern weapons.
