The British Ministry of Defense has signed three contracts for the development of laser and radio frequency weapons demonstrators. One of the promising installations will be tested on board the Type 23 frigate, and the other will be installed on the Wolfhound armored vehicle.
A number of countries, including the United States, are currently engaged in the development of a combat laser, China and France . Its main advantage is considered to be almost unlimited ammunition: the radiating installation shoots until it ceases to receive energy from the power source. Therefore, the military believes that it will be cheaper and more effective to hit various objects with lasers.
The Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom in September signed three contracts for the development of demonstrators of weapons of directed energy transfer. It is planned to start testing all of them in 2023, and to complete them in 2025.
Two contracts were awarded to Thales UK. It will create a laser installation that will be tested against drones on board a Type 23 frigate, as well as a radio frequency system demonstrator. The latter is designed for tracking air, land and sea targets. It will be installed on the MAN SV truck. The third contract was awarded to Raytheon UK. The company should develop a laser demonstrator for the Wolfhound armored vehicle.
Laser weapons need relatively high currents, which conventional diesel generators or auxiliary power plants cannot always provide. Earlier we wrote about Rolls-Royce, which has created a hybrid installation for combat lasers with a power of up to 100 kilowatts. It can simultaneously provide the laser with energy and cool it.
Vasilisa Chernyavtseva
