In another step from the bench to the battlefield, Raytheon UK is integrating its first 15kW high-energy laser weapon onto the British Army's Wolfhound armored vehicle as part of the UK Ministry of Defense's Land Demonstrator laser programme.
The UK is a pioneer in laser warfare, having deployed practical glare lasers in the 1982 Falklands War, and the UK government is committed to developing and deploying domestically produced high-energy systems over the next few years. Of course, contrary to low-budget spy movies, it's not just a matter of building a death ray and strapping it to the back of a pickup truck. Like any other weapons system, lasers must be integrated with the platform on which they are mounted, which means painstaking detail and working within a limited range.
For example, a 15-kilowatt laser might pale in comparison to Lockheed Martin's 300-kilowatt giant laser, but it would still be highly effective against drones and larger threats. While indestructible, it can blind vulnerable sensors and electronics by attacking them. What's more, the lower power requirements allow it to be installed on vehicles like the Wolfhound, although the new laser has a rechargeable reserve (possibly batteries or supercapacitors) and requires minimal logistics due to its theoretically unlimited ammunition supply.
In addition to the aircraft, integration must also take into account that the laser is only one part of a deep air defense system and therefore needs to connect, communicate and work easily with other components on land, sea, air or space.
According to the UK's Raytheon, the laser system has undergone four days of live-fire exercises in the United States, conducting extensive field testing against short-range attacks, drone swarms and long-range threats. During the test, the system successfully acquired, tracked, locked on and destroyed dozens of drone targets.
Raytheon has accumulated extensive experience in developing eight laser weapons for the U.S. military, which have engaged and destroyed more than 400 targets during 25,000 hours of combat time. Integration work takes place at Raytheon UK’s new Advanced Laser Integration Center in Livingston, Scotland.
Julie Finlayson-ODELL, General Manager Weapons and Sensors at Raytheon UK, said: “The arrival of this transformative technology is an important milestone in our partnership with the Ministry of Defence, as we use directed energy to tackle everything from drones and unmanned aerial vehicles. to more complex missile systems. This system is the culmination of decades of investment, research and innovation, and its arrival demonstrates our ongoing commitment to helping achieve the key strategic objective of the UK Integrated Review, which is to understand how directed energy weapons can operate safely and effectively alongside other elements of the UK Armed Forces."