The TRUTH about the UK's new DRAGONFIRE Laser

The UK Ministry of Defense recently announced the successful testing of their Dragonfire laser-directed energy weapon system, and it has since been touted by media outlets as everything from the answer to missile defense to a replacement for missiles themselves. But as cool as this system genuinely is, none of that is true.

Let's talk about what Dragonfire really is, and why it's important even if it doesn't live up to the science fiction hype.

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Citations:

[alexbakker]

What also needs to be taken into account is the scaling up of these systems in sheer numbers. Instead of thinking 1 system intercepting 1 target, you can also have 20 of these systems intercepting 1 target.

[generalwoundwort]

It can be used to boil water for tea, just needs reducing in size to fit in boiling vessels in AFV's. Remember to use Yorkshire Tea!

[kevinhunkin]

You missed the point, the dragon fire is a proof of concept prototype design. So it is not about the power of the laser but all about the targeting. Now that they know it works it will be scaled up with a much more powerful laser.

[nuppvdu]

Lets not forget..the UK has always punched above its weight..and have some of the best engineers in the world..

[spacetime]

btw 50kw is what was shown, they mentioned if you research what was actually said, the system has been built to scale up to much higher power. The impressive thing is how accurate and robust the system is vs cost.

[therocinante]

Don't forget, lasers require sharks to wear them in order for them to work.

[WOTArtyNoobs]

It should be remembered that the UK used lasers as 'dazzle' weapons in the Falklands War back in 1982. The low flying Argentine fighters not only had to contend with missiles and small arms fire when they attacked the ships, but there were low power lasers being used to distract the pilots. The sort of laser that was popular at a nightclub. Not strong enough to hurt the pilot, but enough to momentarily distract them when they had to be focussed on their target.

The new systems are capable of burning the target and if used in the same context, they would not only set fire to missiles or drones, but potentially cause optical burns to anyone that looked into the beam for any length of time. It is a much better way of bringing down swarm attacks by sea or air drones.

[TheLastCrumb.]

Ww3 could be the craziest light show in history

[madder]

*50KW Minimum being the key information against Dragonfire. Any other information would be pushing the boundaries of national security. 👍🏻

[LeonardTavast]

Once the technology matures I expect it to complement CWIS. It can't defeat hypersonic missiles using ceramic shielding but it can protect against many other kinds of threat.

[warrenburgis]

It’s the Royal Navy, not the U.K. navy.

[stevehoot]

The point from a UK point of view is that we have the technology ourselves - just like we do with cruise missiles, submarines etc. It means along with our US friends we'll have the targeting technology nailed. Scaling up to higher power is comparatively easy, especially with nuclear power plants. As other have mentioned you could easily have half a dozen or more of these and can be used alongside CWIS. For ballistic missiles we'd likely use missiles as we do today, but for drones and cruise missiles lasers are a good additional weapon in our Navy's arsenal. Should the lasers not be effective (very large drone, shielded etc) then we can still use a missiles and/or CIWS.

[kennethng]

I think you missed a possible application: blinding the terminal guidance of incoming missiles, and blinding ISR drones. Otherwise a great episode as always.

[unknownhornet]

still really effective for small drones. Having this capability certainly helps supplement other assets.

[rodd]

Researching this correctly, the truth is it’s a *minimum 50kw* so far more powerful than what he’s stated. Looks like the Brits beat us to a viable energy weapon. Shameful need to downplay the achievement of an ally.

[fuglbird]

Congratulations to the UK. Dragonfire can now boil 1 l of water 1609 m away in less than 7 seconds. Tea is ready.

[forresttm]

Last time i was this fast.. the mrs wasnt happy.

[khandimahn]

Let's not forget that atmospheric conditions - such as dust, smoke and fog - can also greatly effect the range of directed energy weapons. A sandstorm could render such a system useless.

[flagpoleeip]

The point you miss is the incoming missiles operate at the edge of their design envelope. They don't have more shielding that they require, they have exactly what they need. and so you don't need that much extra heat to knock them out 🤷‍♂

[chadherbert]

A cluster of these setup around a city centre could coordinate to hit targets with like 50 beams at a time, dramatically boosting results…