Ukrainian officials are calling on the United Kingdom to send an experimental laser weapon to help fend off Russian drone and missile attacks.
The U.K. Ministry of Defense recently declassified footage of the DragonFire laser-directed energy weapon, an air defense weapon intended to shoot down missiles and aircraft. Some in Ukraine, eager to boost their strained air defense forces, are eyeing an expedited deployment of the technology to help in its war with Russia.
“Ukraine is ready to take and test the operation of such a laser complex in combat conditions,” Anton Gerashchenko, a former Ukrainian parliamentarian and current adviser, said in a post on X, repeating the U.K. Defense Ministry’s claim that the technology could “fundamentally change the battlespace.”
“We are ready to test it in Ukraine,” Ukrainian Member of Parliament Oleksiy Goncharenko told Newsweek, referring to the system.
The deployment of the technology to Ukraine hasn’t been openly floated by anyone else previously. Nor has the prospect of deployment even been floated with active combat scenarios the U.K. is involved in, such as operations against the Houthis in the Red Sea. It will likely be some time before any such deployment of the weaponry because it’s still in the experimental stage.
The weapon itself was first successfully tested in January, the footage of which was just released.
A statement from the U.K. MOD said the laser can hit a 1-pound coin from 1 kilometer away, or 0.6 miles, though its full range remains classified. The focused laser can cut through airborne targets, “leading to structural failure or more impactful results if the warhead is targeted.”
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Among the most appealing aspects of the weapon is its cost-effectiveness — one ten-second beam costs the same as using a heater for roughly an hour, about $11. This is in contrast to the high cost of air defense missiles, which can cost as much as $2 million each. In Ukraine and the Red Sea, such missiles are often used against drones costing only a few thousand dollars.
Russia has increased drone and missile attacks in recent months, which have begun to take a toll on Ukrainian air defense, which is already struggling over lagging Western aid. The deterioration of Ukraine’s air defense has allowed the Russian Air Force to operate in a decisive capacity for the first time in the war, playing a major role in the Russian victory at Avdiivka in February.