- New lasers on British aircraft can target and neutralize incoming threats
Lasers that can shoot down swarms of heat-seeking missiles have been successfully tried for the first time on British aircraft, in a boon to the Royal Air Force.
The Ministry of Defense announced yesterday that new ‘air defense lasers’ had destroyed 100 percent of their targets during a live firing trial in Sweden.
The Miysis system is capable of picking up incoming missiles, tracking them and firing a jamming laser with “ultimate precision.”
“Threats are being defeated faster than the time it takes to read this sentence,” the Ministry of Defense said in a statement, heralding the success of breakthrough technology produced in Britain.
Earlier this year, Britain successfully tested its DragonFire laser-guided energy weapon in Scotland, which is capable of ‘engaging’ and ‘slicing’ targets ‘at the speed of light’.
British A400s (pictured) and surveillance aircraft could be equipped with lasers in the near future
The lasers identify incoming missiles and fire jamming lasers to ‘confuse’ them
Miysis lasers work like traditional flares to ‘confuse’ missile guidance systems and steer missiles away from their targets.
They are being designed to fit onto British A400M transporters and Shadow R2 intelligence collection aircraft to help evade threats ‘such as missiles’.
The Ministry of Defense said tests had taken place at the Vidsel Test Range in Sweden, in which a ‘series’ of infrared heat-seeking missiles were fired simultaneously.
The lasers have been designed and developed by the Team Pellonia partnership between Leonardo UK, Thales UK and the Ministry of Defence’s own Defense Science and Technology Laboratory.
The partnership has helped support 1,950 jobs across Scotland, the Ministry of Defense said.
John Healey, the Defense Secretary, said of the development: ‘Identifying, tracking and defeating aerial threats in seconds is crucial to gaining an advantage over those who wish to do us harm.
“We equip our armed forces with cutting-edge technology to keep them safe and give them an edge in operations.
‘This high-tech laser is another excellent example of collaboration between our Dstl experts and the British defense industry.’
The Ministry of Defense boasts that the lasers offer ‘the latest generation of best-in-class protection’ with ‘complete operational independence’.
It suggests the new option could be offered to ‘export customers’.
The Ministry of Defense and the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory said in January that a trial of another laser capable of ‘cutting through’ a target had been tested at the Ministry of Defence’s Hebrides Range.
The DragonFire laser-guided energy weapon (LDEW) can “attack any visible target” by firing a powerful laser into the air.
“The precision required is equivalent to striking a £1 coin from a kilometer away,” the Ministry of Defense said.
The DragonFire LDEW can attack ‘any visible target’ (shown)
An American AC-130 gun deploys flares that can divert incoming missile threats
Firing costs ‘typically less than £10 per shot’, offering the potential to replace expensive rockets for a range of tasks.
The then Defense Secretary, Grant Shapps, said at the time that ‘this type of advanced technology has the potential to revolutionize the battlespace by reducing reliance on expensive munitions, while also lowering the risk of collateral damage’ .
The Ministry of Defense has announced plans to fund a multi-million pound program to ‘transfer’ the technology from pilot projects to the field.
Research into the LDEW cost £100 million, the result of a joint investment between the Ministry of Defense and industry partners.