British soldiers have successful trialled for the first time a game-changing weapon that can take down a swarm of drones using radio waves for less than the cost of a pack of mince pies.
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Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapons (RFDEW) can take down a swarm of drones for less than the cost of a pack of mince pies.
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Systems are capable of hitting targets up to 1km away and costs just 10p per shot
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The programme supports more than 135 highly-skilled jobs across UK industry
British soldiers have successfully trialled for the first time a game-changing weapon that can take down a swarm of drones using radio waves for less than the cost of a pack of mince pies.
The Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon (RFDEW) development system can detect, track and engage a range of threats across land, air and sea.
RFDEWs are capable of neutralising targets up to 1km away with near instant effect and at an estimated cost of 10p per shot fired, providing a cost-effective complement to traditional missile-base air defence systems.
The RFDEW is different from Laser Directed Energy Weapons – such as DragonFire - because it uses a radio frequency to disrupt hostile threats, rather than a laser beam of light energy.
The weapon uses high frequency waves to disrupt or damage critical electronic components inside devices such as drones, causing them to be immobilised or fall out of the sky. It can also be used against threats on land and at sea.
The British Army successfully trialed a demonstrator version of the RFDEW. The development system has been produced by a consortium led by Thales UK and including sub-contractors QinetiQ, Teledyne e2v and Horiba Mira and supports up to 135 high-skilled jobs in the UK.
This progress helps deliver on the Government’s Plan for Change by rapidly advancing technologies and building on the strong foundation of national security.
Its high level of automation means the system can be operated by a single person and could be mounted onto a military vehicle, such as a MAN SV, to provide mobility.
