DragonFire Programme overview
- UK-developed high-energy laser weapon designed to counter drones, missiles, and other aerial threats
- Developed by: MBDA (prime), Leonardo UK, and QinetiQ
- Programme sponsored by the MoD’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) and Defence Equipment & Support
- Production contract: £316 million awarded to MBDA in November 2025
- First operational deployment: Royal Navy Type 45 destroyers from 2027
Technical specifications
- Output power: 50 kilowatts (50kW class)
- Technology: Coherent Beam Combination (CBC) – multiple glass-fibre laser sources merged into a single high-quality beam
- Precision: sub-centimetre accuracy at one kilometre (equivalent to hitting a £1 coin at that range)
- Cost per engagement: approximately £10 per shot
- Demonstrated capability: tracking, targeting, and destroying drones flying at up to 650 km/h; above-the-horizon targeting (a UK first, demonstrated at the Hebrides range in 2025)
How it works
DragonFire uses Coherent Beam Combination to produce a 50kW laser beam of near diffraction-limited quality – meaning the beam maintains its focus and intensity at the target distance. The laser is directed by a high-precision targeting system fed by the host platform’s radar (on the Type 45, this is the Sampson multi-function radar). The system detects the target, tracks it, and focuses the laser on a vulnerable point – the warhead, fuel, or control system – to destroy or disable it.
The weapon does not carry explosive rounds or a finite missile magazine. As long as the platform’s power system is generating electricity, DragonFire can continue to engage targets.
Deployment
- Royal Navy Type 45 destroyers: at least two ships to be fitted by 2027, integrating with the existing Sampson radar
- Future applications under consideration include the British Army (land-based C-UAS role) and RAF (airborne platforms)
Strategic significance
DragonFire addresses a fundamental challenge in modern air defence: magazine depth. A Type 45 carries 48 Aster missiles. A sustained drone or missile swarm attack could exhaust that magazine, leaving the ship without close-in air defence capability. A laser weapon powered by the ship’s generators has, in practical terms, an effectively unlimited magazine for the kinds of targets – drones, small missiles – most likely to be deployed in swarm attacks. This factor is one of the most alarming factors in combatting drones – the sheer volume of ordnance that is required for it.
The cost differential is also strategically significant. Engaging a £500 commercial drone with a £500,000 Aster 15 missile is economically unsustainable at scale. At £10 per shot, DragonFire changes the economics of counter-drone defence entirely.
Development timeline
- 2017: Initial MoD funding awarded for DragonFire development
- 2023: First live firing trials at the Hebrides range
- 2025: Advanced trials including high-speed drone engagement; production contract awarded
- 2026: Deployment to Type 45 accelerated by five years from original timeline
- 2027: First ships to receive DragonFire will be Type 45 Destroyers
UK industrial content
DragonFire is a substantially UK-sovereign capability. MBDA’s UK operations (Stevenage and Bolton) lead the programme; Leonardo’s Luton facility provides key electro-optical and targeting components; QinetiQ contributes test, evaluation, and systems engineering expertise. The underlying laser technology was developed within the UK, making DragonFire one of the few directed-energy weapons programmes with genuine national independence from US technology.
