QinetiQ is investing £20 million to accelerate the development and production of laser directed energy weapon technology, the company has announced, unveiling a new brand name for its high-energy laser sources at the Farnborough International Airshow as the DragonFire system it contributes to heads for Royal Navy ships from 2027.
The company-funded investment will expand development and production capabilities at QinetiQ’s Farnborough and Malvern sites, growing the product range and significantly increasing production capacity for laser weapon systems for both the UK and international defence markets, according to the company.
At the airshow, the firm is unveiling HELENA, the new name for its coherent beam combination High Energy Laser Source products, the critical component at the heart of any laser weapon system, which can be used to defend against drones and other advanced threats.
“Directed Energy Weapons are quickly moving from development to deployment to change the game in battlefield economics against the drone threat, and QinetiQ has been at the forefront of this technology for two decades,” said Steve Wadey, QinetiQ’s Group Chief Executive, as quoted in the press release. “The investment announced today demonstrates our commitment to accelerating both the development and manufacture of sovereign laser technology, ensuring we can meet the growing demand from the UK and our international allies and provide them with the operational advantage on the battlefield.”
QinetiQ has more than 25 years of experience in laser weapon technology and remains a key member of the UK’s DragonFire consortium alongside MBDA and Leonardo, which is delivering laser systems onto Royal Navy ships from 2027, a programme accelerated by the Ministry of Defence to put the 50-kilowatt-class weapon to sea aboard a Type 45 destroyer years earlier than originally planned. Within that partnership, MBDA leads the overall system with Leonardo providing the beam director, while QinetiQ supplies the laser source itself, the element the HELENA branding now covers, generated by combining multiple fibre laser beams into a single coherent high-energy output.