UK first for vehicle-mounted laser weapon trial

News

A low-cost laser energy weapon has been fired from a British Army combat vehicle for the first time in trials at Dstl’s range in Porton Down.

The laser weapon was mounted on to a British Army Wolfhound armoured vehicle and ‘neutralised’ targets at distances of over 1km.

The successful test-firing is part of the MoD’s Defence’s Land Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) Demonstrator programme.

According to Dstl (Defence Science and Technology Laboratory) the next phase of testing will involve trials with army personnel later this year, further evaluating the system’s capabilities and benefits in real-world scenarios.

In a statement, Dstl chief executive Dr Paul Hollinshead OBE MBA said: “This is another significant milestone in accelerating the adoption of directed energy weapons.

“Working ever closer with DE&S [Defence Equipment & Support] and industry to develop critical new capabilities, we are preparing the armed forces for the future so they can detect, disable and destroy future and novel threats.”

The system operates with a command-and-control system and can be integrated with wider battle management radar and surveillance systems. Dstl added that the weapon can be mounted on various platforms to meet different operational needs.

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laser weapons