Royal Navy to Equip Ships with DragonFire LDEW

26 March, 2025 DragonFire laser weapon on board the Type 45 destroyer. Photo: Royal Navy The UK Ministry of Defence plans to strengthen the air defense of the surface fleet by integrating the DragonFire laser-directed-energy weapon (LDEW).

Defense will receive a further GBP2.2bn funding boost this year, including equipping Royal Navy ships with state-of-the-art laser weapons that can hit a GBP1 coin from a kilometer away, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to announce. Discussions about installing the DragonFire ground-based system on British ships have been ongoing since 2024, when the system was successfully tested on a ground platform and demonstrated effective drone interception.

Testing of the DragonFire laser system. Photo: MoD UK

The UK Ministry of Defence had previously announced that it would be installed on one warship by 2027, but the new money will expand the rollout to four ships by that year.

The laser - known as DragonFire - can hit a GBP1 coin from 1km and take down drones at a distance of 5km. The cost of a single shot from the laser system does not exceed GBP10, and its efficiency is quite high, with an unlimited number of recharges. The Royal Navy views the system as a potentially cost-effective alternative to missiles for countering certain threats, such as unmanned aerial vehicles and fast coastal strike craft.

The development of the laser-directed-energy weapon started in 2018 with the involvement of leading British companies, including MBDA UK, Leonardo UK, and QinetiQ Group. The first practical tests of the 50+ kW energy laser system were conducted in January 2024, where the system demonstrated its capabilities in destroying airborne targets.

DragonFire laser directed-energy weapon during testing.

Photo credits: MoD UK

Additionally, after tests in April 2024, it was announced that the UK Ministry of Defence plans to transfer the DragonFire laser-directed-energy weapon to Ukraine as part of strengthening its air defense. In February 2025, Vadym Sukharevskyi, Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, during an interview with the YouTube channel PRESSING, stated that Ukraine will soon be able to destroy attack drones with the help of the Ukrainian-made Tryzub laser system. Vadym Sukharevskyi noted that Ukraine has become the fifth country in the world to have a working model of the laser system.

He also added that the Tryzub laser system is currently capable of shooting down aircraft at an altitude of over 2 km.