The UK Ministry of Defense recently announced the successful testing of their Dragonfire laser-directed energy weapon system, and it has since been touted by media outlets as everything from the answer to missile defense to a replacement for missiles themselves. But as cool as this system genuinely is, none of that is true.
Let’s talk about what Dragonfire really is, and why it’s important even if it doesn’t live up to the science fiction hype.
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Citations:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/advanced-future-military-laser-achieves-uk-first
https://www.rafael.co.il/worlds/land/iron-beam/
https://www.sandboxx.us/news/lasers-wont-save-us-from-hypersonic-weapons/
https://www.laserax.com/blog/types-lasers
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a42435948/navy-laser-weapon/
https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2022-09-15-Lockheed-Martin-Delivers-Its-Highest-Powered-Laser-to-Date-to-US-Department-of-Defense
https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2023-07-28-Lockheed-Martin-to-Scale-Its-Highest-Powered-Laser-to-500-Kilowatts-Power-Level
https://sgp.fas.org/crs/natsec/IF11882.pdf
https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/systems/laws.htm
https://www.armscontrol.org/blog/2018-05-14/reasons-doubt-laser-missile-defense
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68031257
https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2023-10-10-US-Army-Selects-Lockheed-Martin-to-Deliver-300-kW-class-Solid-State-Laser-Weapon-System
https://www.mbda-systems.com/press-releases/dragonfire-laser-achieves-another-uk-first/
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/10/12/ride-of-valkyries-army-getting-us-militarys-most-powerful-laser-weapons-yet.html
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dragonfire-laser-directed-energy-weapons
https://aviationweek.com/shownews/farnborough-airshow/uk-dragonfire-laser-begins-firing-trials
https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/uk-military-laser-powered-weapons
https://www.theengineer.co.uk/content/news/dragonfire-laser-weapon-achieves-high-power-firing/
source
Rule Britannia XXX
Easy peasy. I'm building a gozillawatt laser in my garage…lol
Thanks for this. I knew directed energy wasn't a Star Wars type, target-goes-boom-instantly thing, but I didn't realize just how long it takes some of our beefiest lasers to knock something down. I feel a bit less ignorant about DE now.
Also one of it's promoted features is increased energy density, To my way of thinking that means while other systems have twice or even three times the total power, Dragonfire concentrates it's output with increased accuracy, Ie less power but spread over less area…
Read numerous headlines on this and couldn’t wait to see Alex correct the story.
This here is the big truth about directed energy systems: You don't fire seven missiles at a drone… you CAN fire seven dragonfire at one drone and take it out FAST. So you don't need one big one, you need more reliable up-time.
There's an interesting problem here with the velocity of ballistic missile systems: they slow down a LOT when coming in and are still exposed to the same amount of self-generated heat. One of the ways you can defeat a shaped charge is simply to bung a high voltage current through it thus converting a large portion of it into a vaporous liquid, BAE developed that 300kv grid system as proof of concept… so adding more heat to an incoming missile that is ALREADY at the upper limits of its heat resistance necessarily in order to do its job is very effective – that's roughly what missile intercepts do.
One of the other aspects of having more smaller energy systems is that you can paint the targets from multiple directions so that the simple countermeasure of rolling the missile airframe to improve dissipation isn't as effective. So in the end not only does Dagonfart meet criteria for increased uptime, it is also mobile enough that each vehicular unit could also tow a wagon unit and deploy two emitters but its small enough that you can take two in a regular plane instead of having to take one in a big plane. I'd say win-win.
Thank you, my friend. As always, very interesting and enlightening!
👍🏻🇺🇸🦅🇺🇸👍🏻
This is going to be a challenge. But we're gonna figure it out.
So. America tested its lasers on the people of Hawaii and destroyed a whole town.
It’s is we do
It’s high power, or more,
Sounds more like a bond movie name.
07:23 ok I don't get it?
Didn't they fix the Hubble space telescope with "nro" mirror technology why don't we use a similar setup?
You are talk crap. We’ve at oxford university.
Emmm city of London is 45 trillion
Magnetron and transform, and the secret mixture.
Now we need an array of reflecting satellites so it can hit anywhere in the world.
Minor nit: 8:28: No! Targeting doesn't happen at the speed of light! It happens at the speed of the motors driving the targeting mirrors. Admittedly, that is very fast. lasercuters and 3D printers are doing hundreds of inches per minute travels, and I'm sure a laser targeting system will use something far more powerful than those tiny motors, but they'll still be about 10 orders of magnitude off from the speed of light…
You’ve answered my question today Alex and that is how far can these laser systems can kill. So one mile for the lower power one and up to 10 miles for the high power systems. May be some day they can extend that to 30, 50, or more than 100 miles??? Then we can surely kill those missiles with cheaper laser. 👍🇺🇸😀
Technically acquiring and destroying/impeding a target is only part of the equation. Duty Cycle, or how quickly different targets can be engaged is even more important. Witness the CWIS.
07:05 COSTAR, Adaptive Optics Control System for Deformable Mirrors….?
The scientists of the UK are smart enough to make a laser with 1/100 the beam area that the US is using, and with the proper frequency, not have any of the flaring problems. However, ocean spray and dust on the lens would be a problem only countered using a shield when not in use and a high-pressure air current of purified air when uncovered to keep the glass mirrors clean. The photo of the UK dragonfire does not show these things making the item shown a hoax or the dragonfire a hoax. Unless, like you said, it is to counter drones.
You know, decaf is just as tasty😂❤
A simple solution is to have multiple emitters that all focus on the same target. So instead of just one system on a ship you have two or three. Yes, getting both beams to focus on the same place will be a bit more difficult so maybe have… Six emitters for example so the odds that two or three will cross on a cruse missile or ballistic warhead simultaneously go up and the target gets enough energy to destroy it.
So they were powering those with standalone diesel generators? Why can they not utilize the nuclear reactors? Surges?
As to lasers and power required to take down drones and missiles, in answer to your points, NO and er NO!!!! Sorry you have missed the mark on the science.
The science behind lasers is NOT the overall power, although more power is better, but concentration and precision. A 500Kw laser can do the job of taking down a missile, but if it is not formed into a concentrated beam, it wont take down a pigeon, just blind it and warm it up a little. The Americans have found the HELCAP and HELSI units to be very large and unwieldy, giving every chance to miss the target entirely, slowing response times. Also concentrating that powered beam is causing big issues with heat. Whereas a Dragonfire 50Kw beam concentrated, can have a far greater impact, is far smaller and more mobile, and far, far, far, more accurate and responsive. Where overall power does have an advantage, is range. The longer the range, the more dissipated and weakened the beam is due to atmosphere as you said.
The whole point of Dragonfire is personal protection for that military unit. It will not project miles of anti aircraft/drone/missile cover. But the American 300Kw, wont be able to do much more than Dragonfire. I believe the point of Dragonfire is personal protection for ships, planes, and even vehicles. The aim being to make it small enough to be entirely portable. It has the potential to completely make all enemy offensive weapons worthless. Helcap and Helsi are so big and cumbersome, they will only work with larger ships. Good luck coping with the pitch of a ship with something that weighs tons. Alas America is so transfixed by size and power being everything, when in reality, it is only a part of the answer and can cause major problems.
The research into using lasers as anti aircraft/drone/missile unit covering ten miles of the battlefield would require more than 10Mw. So is the plan to take power stations with the anti air unit? That would work fine for the aircraft carriers, they can cope with that power need, but destroyers? Frigates? Aircraft? Tanks? Sorry no chance.
So can Dr. Evil attach one of these to a shark's head?
Sounds like fhe perfect application is in the navy, where time on target is not an issue
drone technology has become a real threat on the battlefield… so if lasers can be the answer to the drones are very welcome…