The kind of laser weapons seen in Star Wars and Star Trek are fast becoming a reality and may “change the equation” when it comes to taking out some enemy targets, an expert has said. Development of lasers as weapons has continued for years, with the technology being adopted by countries including the UK.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced earlier this month that a speed of light laser weapon was successfully fired for the first time on a British Army combat vehicle at Defence Science and Technology Laboratory’s (Dstl) range in Porton Down, Wiltshire.
Dr David Jordan, Co-Director of Freeman Air & Space Institute based at King’s College London, told Express.co.uk rumours have long swirled around Directed Energy Weapons (DEW).
He said: “There’s always an element of speculation about these systems, since the forces rightly keep much of the information classified, but because we have various sci-fi films – most obviously Star Trek and Star Wars – people speculate.
“A point, though, is that the sort of science fiction weapons we’ve seen on TV and in films for decades is now starting to become reality.”
In its groundbreaking test, scientists and engineers saw Dstl’s laser weapon “neutralise” targets at distances in excess of 0.6 miles (1km), according to the MoD.
Mounted on a British Army Wolfhound armoured vehicle, the high-energy laser weapon represented a “major leap forward” in the MoD’s Land Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) Demonstrator programme.
The lightweight, portable high energy laser system was the first laser weapon built into a land vehicle to be fired in Britain. The emerging technology offers unlimited firepower and at 10p per shot, it promises to save a lot of money.
Dr. Jordan said such systems are likely to be vehicle or ship-based for the near future, although the US Army previously trialled a laser system on the AH-64 Apache helicopter.
He said there has been talk that as the systems evolve fighters and attack aircraft could be fitted with such weapons, adding the US Air Force considered fitting a DEW to an updated version of the AC-130 gunship, but has decided not to pursue it for now.
The expert explained the benefits of a working system are notable, with a “shot” from a DEW costing about $10 (£7.80) able to bring down a drone or even an aircraft in a much more cost-effective manner than previously possible.
Dr Jordan pointed to a debate over whether it was a good idea to use a missile against an enemy vehicle with a machine gun on the back because the cost of the missile was so much higher than the target.
He added: “This was a bit simplistic, but there was a point to the question of how to deal with very cheap enemy targets which existed in large numbers with expensive weapons that could only be obtained in relatively small numbers. The DEW may – I stress may – change the equation.”
The expert said besides equipping the Royal Navy with DEW on the Dragonfire system due to deploy in 2027 and the Army on Wolfhound, the RAF Regiment, which is tasked with protecting Britain’s air power, should look at the technology too.
He said DEW could offer a means of defending airfields, though the RAF Regiment might decide a mix of gunfire, electronic warfare and perhaps use of their own drones to bring down those of the enemy would be better.
The next phase of the Army’s testing will involve trials with personnel later this year in a project which includes a number of firms in its supply chain. These are Raytheon UK, Frazer-Nash, NP Aerospace, LumOptica, Blighter Surveillance Systems and Cambridge Pixel.
