Laser weapon

In another step toward practical battlefield energy weapons, the UK has for the first time tested a laser weapon mounted on a British Army Wolfhound armored vehicle as part of the Land Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) Demonstrator program.

The Australian Department of Defence has demonstrated what is not only the country's first laser weapon, but what is billed as the world’s most powerful portable high-energy laser, capable of taking down drones with ground-breaking precision.

A new directed energy weapon is being rolled out to bolster British defense capabilities. And, at 13 cents a shot, it's just as effective, but a lot cheaper than the multi-million dollar missiles it's designed to replace.

In a newly declassified video, the $127 million DragonFire high-power laser weapon can be seen spectacularly blasting through mortar rounds and shooting down drones. It's the best look we've had yet of the top-secret battlefield game-changer.

Britain has fired its Dragonfire high-powered laser weapon at aerial targets for the first time. The test of the Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) on the Ministry of Defence's Hebrides Range was designed to demonstrate its power and accuracy.

Laser weapons have begun to spread throughout NATO, as the German Navy has completed a year-long trial under realistic sea conditions of a 20-kW MBDA Deutschland/Rheinmetall Laser Weapon Demonstrator. It was installed aboard the frigate Sachsen.

In another step from the workbench to the battlefield, Raytheon UK is integrating its first high-energy 15-kW laser weapon into a Wolfhound armored vehicle for the British Army as part of the Ministry of Defence's Land Demonstrator laser program.

Northrop Grumman has delivered a miniaturized high-energy laser, called the Phantom, to the US government that points to future laser weapons that are not only powerful, but small and rugged enough for field combat.

Lockheed Martin is raising the bar on its 300-kW laser weapon system, announcing it is scaling it up to 500 kW under a new contract from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering (OUSD (R&E)).

Australia has joined the race to field a practical high-energy laser weapon. QinetiQ Australia has been awarded AU$$12.9 million (US$8.74 million) to develop a prototype with a twist – the goal is to build a laser that can take out main battle tanks.

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced that it successfully test fired Britain's first high-powered, long-range laser directed energy weapon (LDEW), called DragonFire, on October 17 at the Porton Down science park test range in Wiltshire.

Lockheed Martin has delivered its most powerful laser to date to the US military's Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering for installation in new laser weapon demonstrators designed to engage a variety of targets.