The UK is joining the race of combat lasers and "microwaves". Yesterday, September 14, the portal defensenews.com He reported that the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom ordered the companies Thales and Raytheon to develop energy weapons.
Combat lasers are planned to be developed for placement on ships and armored vehicles, while the microwave emitter will be based on a military truck. A consortium of BAE Systems, Chess Dynamics, Vision4CE and IPG companies, led by Thales, will develop a laser weapon demonstrator for the Type 23 frigate.
Raytheon Project Swinton Mobile Laser System
Image source: defensenews.com
Also, Thales, but already with the companies QinetiQ, Teledyne e2v and Horiba Mira, will develop a "combat microwave" based on the MAN SV truck. At the same time, a consortium consisting of Frazier Nash Consultancy, NP Aerospace and LumOptica, led by Raytheon Technologies, will create a highly mobile laser system based on the Wolfhound armored vehicle.
The companies have received about $100 million in total and should present prototypes of combat systems in 2023. The British Ministry of Defense expects that in the next ten years, energy weapons will become serial and will be actively used by the armed forces.