At the ongoing international arms exhibition DSEI-2017, the companies presented numerous new products. Many were expected, many looked, if not revolutionary, then quite unexpected.
The experts were greatly interested in the first demonstration of the British developers of the Dragonfire consortium's combat laser installation, which loosely translated sounds like "Fire-breathing dragon".
This is a joint development of the leading manufacturer of missile systems in Europe MBDA (Matra BAE Dynamics Alenia) and Dstl (Defense Science and Technology Laboratory), which is the executive body of the main military department of the United Kingdom. The British government is tasking Dstl with maximizing the use of new technologies and scientific advances in the development of weapons for the armed forces of the United Kingdom.
For the first time, the Dragonfire consortium has demonstrated the design of a combat tower that will be used to generate a laser beam from a QinetiQ emitter. Also in the tower of the British "Fire-breathing dragon" implemented a technological solution for the electronic optical identification of targets and their tracking. At the same time, it is noted that the targets can be both surface and air. The newest British laser system should work effectively both in one and the other. As it turns out, not only for them …
The technological features of Dragonfire also consist in displaying an image of a "captured" target on a special screen, through which both the parameters of the target itself and the options (expediency) of its tracking and destruction can be specified.
The developers of the system note that if the earlier versions of combat laser systems were distinguished by low power and, as a result, a short range of destruction of the target, then the installation option from Dragonfire allows you to effectively solve a very wide range of tasks. During the presentation of the installation, the manufacturers, without undue modesty, stated that the laser installation can be used to "blind" enemy missile guidance systems, up to their (missiles) complete destruction in the air. This variant of the use of a British-made combat laser installation is designated as "a variant of the laser air defense of warships and auxiliary ships."
It is noted that the combat laser module can be used against enemy unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as against the implementation of artillery attacks, including attacks from land.
This is how the presentation shot of the British Fire-Breathing Dragon at DSEI-2017 looks like:
And this is directly the "tower" of the combat laser installation:
From the presentation:
New laser weapons can complement or replace existing weapon systems with potential significant benefits. It can be used to protect our (British) naval and ground forces; for example, ships from missile threats or military personnel from enemy mortars.
As follows from the presentation, the British Ministry of Defense plans to use the combat laser module not only from a sea "platform" in the form of a ship, but also from a land platform. What exactly the British are going to take as a chassis for a promising combat laser has not yet been reported. However, the previously mentioned MBDA published an image with an 8x8 chassis option for "early" land-based laser systems with a more than impressive (multi-ton) power supply system:
Apparently, the option less than 8x8 for this combat laser module does not fit in any way - it simply cannot withstand the weight of the "battery" …
It is planned that tests of the brainchild of the Dragonfire consortium should be completed by 2019. At the same time, the government Dstl undertakes to provide all the nuances of the tests directly to the analytical department of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense.
From a statement by British Secretary of Defense Michael Fallon:
Our country has long acquired a reputation as a world leader in the latest technology. And our new development will change the very principle of defense.
Discreet … British.
During the presentation of the newest laser combat module, the developers said that its power "will be enough to achieve the goals set for the defense of forces and assets." Peter Cooper, representing Dstl, previously noted that the company is "implementing as yet immature technology" and is working to create "innovative high-power combat lasers to understand the capabilities of these weapons and their ability to counter the threats that the British Armed Forces may face. ".
In this case, no data are given directly on the power of the laser facility. Secret information … Considering that the installation itself is being promoted as best they can. Moreover, the sum of the initial investment in the complex is given. So far it is 30 million pounds, which, as noted in Dragonfire, "has already been spent." The sum itself, and this is paid special attention to, was aimed not so much at direct development as at the demonstration of the laser installation. Correctly showing and leaving the mystery unsolved is a whole science from British specialists …
In this regard, the question arises: does the installation really have the efficiency that is shown in the presentation picture, or has Britain decided to issue an exclusively advertising product in which, perhaps, someone would want to invest? The version about the desire of British companies to attract investors may well have the right to life, based at least on the fact that in the presentation British manufacturers constantly used the phrase "our allies" without pronouncing specific names of countries.
