Australia is helping to take the world into the era of Star Wars-style combat.<\/p>\n
A Canberra-made laser is about to become NATO’s newest frontline defence against enemy drones, in a deal experts say could transform the future of warfare.<\/p>\n
The high-powered laser, nicknamed Apollo after the Greek God of Light, can destroy up to 20 drones a minute, at a cost of $1 per shot, which is faster and cheaper than traditional missiles or cannons.<\/p>\n
There have been several incursions in recent weeks by Russian drones into European airspace.<\/p>\n
Electric Optic Systems (EOS) told the ABC a Western European NATO country had bought the Australian technology to bolster its air defence.<\/p>\n
“There’s been a paradigm shift in warfare, particularly in Ukraine, which has been driven by drones,” EOS chief executive Andreas Schwer told the ABC.<\/p>\n
“A drone costs you $1,000, but a missile needed to kill that drone is $500,000.”<\/p>\n
“It is fast becoming an economic war and the only option for the defender is to have cheaper solutions to destroy those drones. That’s where the laser comes into play.”<\/p>\n
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The lasers are designed to burn through drones. (Supplied: EOS)<\/p>\n
The Apollo eliminates drones by “thermal destruction”.<\/p>\n
It uses electricity to heat a target with light particles that burn through the structure until it melts, ignites, or explodes.<\/p>\n
Lasers do have setbacks \u2014 their accuracy can be affected by humidity, rain, fog or dust, and their range remains limited.<\/p>\n
They are more fragile than a canon and unlike missiles, they can not hit objects across terrain or through hills.<\/p>\n
“There is certainly that aspect of science fiction, but they are not perhaps as spectacular as the Star Wars lasers,” Justin Bronk, senior airpower and technology research fellow at defence think tank The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) told the ABC.<\/p>\n
“The relative silence of the laser weapons compared to what we grew up with in video games and films might be a bit of a disappointment for some people.”<\/p>\n
“Rather than vaporising its target immediately, the laser causes damage and starts to burn and then eventually the drone either disintegrates or slows down.”<\/p>\n
Kyiv residents ‘thankful’ with new weapons to repel Russia on the war<\/a><\/p>\n Russia’s relentless drone and missile attacks on Ukraine mean the arrival of long-awaited US-made patriot air defence systems cannot come soon enough.<\/p>\n The war in Ukraine and the conflict in Gaza has accelerated the demand for rapid, low-cost air defence weapons.<\/p>\n Moscow has launched hundreds of drones across Ukraine and even into airspace in Poland in recent weeks.<\/p>\n