MBDA awarded £316 million as UK’s DragonFire laser downs high-speed drones in breakthrough trials

The MOD said the laser, accurate enough to hit a £1 coin from a kilometre away, costs about £10 per shot and offers a cheaper alternative to traditional missile systems that can cost hundreds of thousands of pounds. DragonFire will be installed on a Type 45 destroyer by 2027, five years ahead of the original schedule.

DragonFire is a laser directed energy weapon designed and built entirely in the UK.

It can hit a target the size of a £1 coin from a kilometre away, costs only £10 a shot, and just successfully took down a high-speed drone during testing.

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— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) November 20, 2025

The programme is expected to support 590 jobs across the UK, including 200 in Scotland, 185 in South West England and 75 in the East of England. Ministers said this reflects a wider commitment to use defence investment to support economic growth.

Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard MP said: “This high-power laser will see our Royal Navy at the leading edge of innovation in NATO, delivering a cutting-edge capability to help defend the UK and our allies in this new era of threat.” He added: “We are delivering on our Strategic Defence Review by backing British industry and creating hundreds more jobs, making defence an engine for growth across the UK.”

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said: “This new £316 million contract award – and news that DragonFire has successfully taken down high-speed drones in the latest trials at the MoD’s Hebrides range – shows just how vital Scottish expertise is to the UK’s national security and why Scotland is globally recognised as a centre of defence excellence.” He added: “DragonFire is the latest in an impressive line of defence dividend wins for Scotland. The UK Government is transforming our defence sector into an even more powerful engine for growth because when we back our service personnel and Scottish industry, we keep ourselves and our allies secure whilst delivering skilled jobs and growth for communities and workers.”

As part of the Strategic Defence Review, DragonFire is the first high-power laser capability to enter service from a European nation and marks one of NATO’s most advanced directed energy weapons projects. The review committed nearly £1 billion of additional investment for UK Directed Energy Weapon development during this Parliament.

MBDA will work with QinetiQ and Leonardo to deliver the capability almost five years faster than first planned and continue to refine the system. Industry partners said the accelerated schedule represents a shift towards faster, more flexible defence procurement.

Chris Allam, MBDA UK Managing Director, said: “This latest contract for DragonFire is another significant milestone. It allows us to continue with the next phase of the programme and re-affirms the UK’s intent to be at the forefront of laser directed energy weapons.” He added: “The success of recent DragonFire trials are a testament to our MoD and Industry team delivering a truly game-changing weapon system into the hands of the Royal Navy.”

With over 100 companies in the supply chain, DragonFire’s economic impact stretches across the entire UK.

Every laser component, every circuit board, every piece of specialist equipment designed, built, and assembled in Britain.

This is defence working as an engine for growth. pic.twitter.com/ZsNwDp3M8Q

— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) November 20, 2025

Steve Wadey, Group CEO of QinetiQ, said: “The DragonFire programme is delivering the ambition of the Strategic Defence Review, with industry experts working in collaboration with government to get disruptive, next generation technology into the hands of our warfighters at pace.” He added: “QinetiQ is proud to have played a unique role in developing and testing this critical military capability of the future. We welcome the government’s latest commitment, which will enable us to accelerate the production of the world-leading technology that is fundamental to the DragonFire system.”

Mark Stead, Leonardo UK SVP Radar and Advanced Targeting, said: “Leonardo has channelled its decades of experience developing world-leading lasers to produce DragonFire’s beam director, which harnesses and directs the powerful laser energy on target.” He said: “Today’s contract award to procure a Minimum Deployable Capability of DragonFire is testament to the hard work and dedication of all those involved in the programme, and the rapid progress made by the defence and industry partnership since its inception.”