A laser gun to shoot down drones at a very low cost

It seems that the life of the drone weapon will not last long, according to what can be concluded from what scientists from a "top secret" and scientific-defense laboratory, known as the Porton Down project, located in Wiltshire, southwest England, did.

The scientists used laser beams as a cheap alternative to traditional and expensive air defense systems, and targeted a swarm of drones with the pressure of a trigger, which fired a beam of laser light energy, capable of hitting enemy objects coming from the air, especially drones, and shooting them down.

The range of the laser cannon weapon is currently secret, but British Ministry of Defense scientists have boasted about its "precision accuracy" after it was tested by the army, to the point that Dr. Paul Hollinshead, CEO of the DSTL Defense-Scientific Laboratory, which is also part of Porton Down, predicted that the "Dragonfire Laser Cannon" will be used on the battlefield "sooner than people think," according to a summary of "Al Arabiya.net" report on the new weapon, published by the British newspaper "The Times" on its website today, Tuesday.

The newspaper reported that laser beams, with a power of 15 kilowatts, destroyed a group of targets more than one kilometer away, after a drone, whose name and model were not disclosed, was installed on a fixed armored vehicle, the British-made Wolfhound model, while scientists are confident that the weight of the "Dragonfire" laser system can be reduced to become lighter so that it can be installed on any tank or similar vehicle.

The system requires two people to operate, and costs just 10p per shot of energy - £10 to fire a laser beam that takes down a drone. By comparison, the famous American Patriot missile, which Ukrainian forces use to shoot down Russian drones and missiles, costs more than $3.5 million. However, the weapon, known as Project Swinton, will undergo further testing before it is transferred to Ukraine. The Dragonfire cannon is due to be launched in 2027 at the latest, and is described as a weapon that uses a concentrated laser beam of light to punch a hole in the hull of a flying object, specifically a drone, in a process that experts compare to "welding metal, but from a distance". It is to be installed on ships to protect them from drone attacks "such as those launched by the Houthis in the Red Sea", according to the newspaper.