Ukraine May Get New High-Power 'DragonFire' Laser

The DragonFire laser directed energy weapon is shown firing in Scotland, U.K. in this image published by the British government. The inset image features Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said this week that DragonFire may be sent to Ukraine ahead of its expected 2027 roll out.

Ukraine may be set to receive prototypes of the United Kingdom’s powerful “DragonFire” high-power laser weapon as it remains on the defensive more than two years into Russia’s invasion.

The U.K. has been developing the directed energy weapon for over seven years and conducted its first successful test firing on an aerial target in January. The British Defense Ministry says that DragonFire is accurate enough to strike a £1 coin, which is similar in diameter to a U.S. quarter, from a distance of approximately one kilometer or 0.6 miles.

The weapon is not scheduled to be rolled out until 2027. Regardless, pressure has been mounting for the U.K. to accelerate the timeline and give the laser to Ukraine following the release of a video showing it in action last month, with Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko telling Newsweek at the time his country was “ready to test” DragonFire on the battlefield.

British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps told reporters on Thursday that the U.K. was attempting to “speed up” development of DragonFire and potentially deliver it to Kyiv before it has been fully tested, citing the impact that it could have on the war by offering Ukraine a cost-effective method to destroy Russian drones, the Kyiv Post reported.

“What I want to do is speed up what would usually be a very lengthy process, possibly up to 10 years, down to a much shorter timeframe and get it deployed, potentially on ships and potentially on land,” Shapps said. “What we’ve got going on here is very special, and a level that other countries are unlikely to be replicating…The product itself is genuinely years ahead.”

He added: “Let’s say that it didn’t have to be 100 percent perfect in order for Ukrainians, perhaps, to get their hands on it. 2027 is still the date, as of this moment, but of course, I’ll look to see what we can do to speed it up.”

Newsweek reached out for comment to the Ukrainian military via email on Friday.

If DragonFire is sent to Ukraine and proves to be an effective weapon on the battlefield, it could dramatically slash the financial burden of Kyiv’s aerial defenses, as the British government estimates that it costs about £10 (around $12) per firing.

In comparison, each U.S.-made Patriot interceptor missile, which Ukraine has heavily relied upon during its war with Russia, costs approximately $4 million to produce.

Provided that DragonFire works as expected, the laser may also prove to be more capable of hitting fast-moving targets than interceptor missiles, which have the disadvantage of being unable to travel at the speed of light.

However, delivering the weapon to Ukraine before it has been fully developed and expecting it to change the course of the war could be a tall order.

The U.S. military has been developing laser and other directed energy weapons for decades, even successfully shooting down drones in test firings, but has yet to actually deploy any of the weapons in combat.

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