The United Kingdom is preparing to deploy the DragonFire high-energy laser weapon aboard its Type 45 destroyers by 2027, positioning the Royal Navy to become the first European maritime force to field an operational shipboard laser. Defense leaders say the introduction of this system marks a decisive shift in NATO naval air defense, reducing the cost of intercepting aerial threats and expanding options for countering drones and hostile missiles in contested environments.
British officials describe the project as one of the most significant air-defense upgrades undertaken by the Royal Navy in decades. Early testing demonstrated that DragonFire can track and destroy small targets at tactically relevant ranges, including drones and potentially low-flying missiles. Program managers expect installation to accelerate once ship power generation and cooling modifications are completed—a critical step for high-energy laser integration at sea.
Developed by MBDA UK, QinetiQ and Leonardo, the DragonFire laser is designed not as a research platform but as a combat-ready capability intended to handle a growing list of asymmetric and conventional threats. Royal Navy planners expect the system to counter unmanned aerial vehicles, loitering munitions and potentially fast-attack craft, helping ships respond to mass-drone tactics and saturation strikes that traditional air-defense missiles cannot economically handle.
At its core, DragonFire uses a 50-kilowatt-class short-wave infrared laser, produced by coherently combining multiple fiber-laser outputs into a single precision beam. This architecture delivers high energy density and accurate target engagement at extended ranges, enabling the Royal Navy to intercept hostile platforms without expending expensive interceptor missiles—an increasingly important capability in modern naval warfare.
