British soldiers have successfully tracked, targeted and defeated swarms of drones in the latest trial of a new directed energy weapon developed in the UK.
The trial was completed at a weapons range in West Wales and was the largest counter-drone swarm exercise the British Army has conducted to date.
The weapon system demonstrator is a type of Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon (RF DEW) and has proven capable of neutralising multiple targets simultaneously with near-instant effect.
It uses high frequency radio waves to disrupt or damage critical electronic components inside drones, causing them to crash or malfunction. At an estimated cost of 10p per shot fired, if developed into operational service the system could provide a cost-effective complement to traditional missile-based air defence systems. RF DEW systems can defeat airborne targets at ranges of up to 1km and are effective against threats which cannot be jammed using electronic warfare. The UK government says RF DEW systems could help to protect the UK from unidentified drones at security sensitive areas such as defence bases, and could play a role in preventing disruption at airports.
The project has been delivered by Team Hersa – a collaboration between Defence Equipment & Support and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. The RF DEW demonstrator has been developed by an industry consortium led by Thales UK.
Successful experiments included the Army taking down two swarms of drones in a single engagement, and the project saw more than 100 drones being tracked, engaged and defeated using the weapon across all trials. Sgt Mayers, a Senior Remotely-Piloted Air Systems Operator from 106 Regiment Royal Artillery, was the first British soldier to bring down drones using the system. He said the demonstrator was “quick to learn and easy to use” and that “with improvements in range and power, which could come with further development, the RF DEW system would be a great asset to layered air defence”.
The trial comes as drone swarms are increasingly seen in use in frontline combat in Ukraine. UK Defence Intelligence estimates that last year Ukraine had to defend against attacks from more than 18,000 drones.
The UK government has invested more than GBP 40 million in RF DEW research and development to date, and is increasing the proportion of the Ministry of Defence’s equipment procurement spend on novel technologies. The UK government recently announced it will spend 2.5 percent of GDP on defence by April 2027.
For more information
Ministry of Defence – United Kingdom
Image: Ministry of Defence, Crown Copyright
