Laser Weapons Invading World’s Militaries? UK Developing New System For ‘Emerging Threats’

The future of the United Kingdom’s military could very well lie in laser technology. The UK Ministry of Defense announced Thursday a £30 million ($36.9 million) contract to a consortium of European defense contractors for a laser weapon prototype, BBC News reported.

A demonstration of the prototype isn’t expected until 2019, but the defense ministry intends to see if “directed energy” technology could help British armed services. A successful prototype will be able to track targets over various ranges and across all sorts of weather conditions over land and water.

The contract was awarded to a consortium of contractors called UK Dragonfire after months of talks.

The project “draws on innovative research into high power lasers so as to understand the potential of the technology,” Peter Cooper of the UK’s Defense Science and Technology Laboratory told the BBC.

He also said it could “provide a more effective response to the emerging threats that could be faced by UK armed forces."

Laser technology, which stands for “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation,” can be used to shoot down aerial weapons like fighter planes, drones or missiles as well as ground weapons, but a spokesperson for the Defense Ministry stressed to the BBC that the new project isn’t underway because of a perceived new threat.

The UK’s announcement comes only a handful of months after the U.S. announced it would be fitting some of its armored ground vehicles with laser weaponry. In October 2016, the Army announced plans to place lasers on its Stryker interim armored vehicles, which are capable of destroying missiles, mortars, drones and other artillery, Popular Mechanics reported.

The rise of drone use around the world and advancements in solid state and liquid lasers have led to the proliferation of laser technology across the U.S. military. In 2014, the Navy placed a weapon on the USS Ponce in the Persian Gulf, the Air Force will also put lasers on their AC-130 gunships, according to PM.

All told, by the turn of the next decade, each branch of the U.S. military intends for many of their vehicles and ships to have laser weaponry but has stressed they would be for deterring strikes rather than attacks, Popular Science reported in February 2016.