This UK-made Super Weapon is Ready to be Used | Meet The Dragonfire Directed Energy Weapon

[@hardywatkins7737]

Dragonfire, Stormshadow, ... we are coming up with some really cool names for our weapons!

[@wayneabel5421]

As long as it melts rubber while still in french waters ....its all goid with us

[@davidrobertson5700]

Dude you are a hard man inside. Brimstone not better ?

[@shirleydrury5565]

I agree with that bring it on 😊😊

[@johnkochen7264]

That is a horrible thing to say. We will just come over when it’s dense fog.

[@davidrobertson5700]

@@johnkochen7264 Brimstone works in fog also

[@leedale4008]

Am with you on that.

[@oiyouoverhere1112]

"Now you shall witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational battlestation"

[@nickwake5484]

Now you shall witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational Transit Van!

[@darrylrarmstrong]

​@@nickwake5484 😂

[@johnm7267]

Well they had better think twice about using it against Russia

[@nickwake5484]

@@johnm7267 Why waste the the firepower of a fully armed and operational Transit Van on a hapless shithole that cant invade countries properly? :D

[@alexwhitehead3494]

@johnm7276 why would they be using it against Russia? Russia can't even beat Ukraine do you expect them to come try attack Britain?

[@SinisterMike]

Yes but the question all Brits are asking. Can it be used to heat up a cup of tea?

[@Piccyman1]

Yep 😂

[@KenFullman]

HEAT UP? What kind of philistine are you? You heat the water to make tea. Once it's made you never reheat it. You'll be one of those foreign tea bag users I've heard about.

[@itwoznotme]

i am pretty sure this is an offshoot of the 'rapid water boiler' program that was started in the 80s.

[@ornatus9616]

Why? All homes come with a kettle as standard!

[@KenFullman]

@@ornatus9616 Most soldiers do NOT conduct war from their home. Which is why tea making facilities are required in battle tanks.

[@darrylrarmstrong]

"Ah, I've been expecting you Mr Bond".

[@tedcrilly46]

rules for draw and stud poker? Homer you were supposed to take that out.

[@josefloreza2762]

Before it's just a science fiction now it's a reality,the UK can save much for this kind of weapon.

[@phillipsvanderwesthuizen800]

Another big advantage of LASER weapons is that there is no residues of your own "projectile", that could also cause damage on the ground. This is especially important in protecting populated infrastructure.

[@justinmorgan2126]

residue... a shell casing.. yeah, huge problem.

[@phillipsvanderwesthuizen800]

"Projectile" meaning: shells or AA missiles. Further more, not all shells or AA missiles self destruct/time-out works, or it misses and hits the grownd before time-out. as you said "yeah, huge problem" Discussion closed....@@justinmorgan2126

[@Nick186]

Debris from destroyed rockets will cause damage. It’s not like the whole weapon would be melted down too nothing

[@TechyMantis]

I bet the commanders/captains will be wanting to say "lock phasers and prepare to fire on my mark"

[@spitfires1979]

Amazing future-tech costing £100m, but with a name and logo that could have been on a 1983 home computer! Love it

[@mikester1290]

Not many people going to get that one but I had a Dragon 32 and loved it when I was a kid.

[@172louis]

As long as it works. That's the main thing. 👍

[@spitfires1979]

@@172louis Absolutely, I was just messing around. It is in fact an incredible advance in defence and it’s great to see British innovation at this level.

[@172louis]

​​​​​​​​​@@spitfires1979 It's all fun and banter 😅. There's some interesting tools around these days in different countries being developed. Its crazy have fast technology rolls on. I just Noticed our profile names?. We both got names based of old war plane. My profile names Barnstormer. ✌️

[@paulcoverdale8312]

It’s goin to be a hell of a lot cheaper in the long run than, conventional solid state weapons ❤❤❤💯💯💯🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@stephenclarke8864]

So far we've only seen animated pictures we'll see if it works on the battlefield

[@paulcoverdale8312]

If your a pirate in a skiff, you won’t know what’s hit ya❤❤❤❤❤

[@GarryOzols]

If they dont call the Ships that carry this the "Shark Class" then they missed the opportunity to say "Frikkin Sharks with LASERS on their heads" every time they deploy them.

[@thisguy6559]

The mirror coating recently seen testing on f-117, f-22, and f-35 is starting to make a lot more sense.

[@GardenLives]

Doubt this can be defeated by a mirror coating but its a good question

[@andrewhartley3]

@@GardenLives It can be reflected so it is possible. Wouldn't that be a shame.

[@mrbaab5932]

Mirror coating also lowers the emissivity of the aircraft to lower its apparent temperature. Metal mirror coating really don't stop high energy lasers. Commercial laser cutters have been cutting thru metals like Aluminum since the late 1980's.

[@andrewhartley3]

@@mrbaab5932 Cool. Thanks for that. I will get my order in today 🤣

[@kylegill4932]

@@andrewhartley3does a mirror surface protect against heat lol?

[@J-Ernie]

I will take two!

[@marcusharmon8389]

Dragonfire UK ALWAYS HAS THE BEST NAMES FOR WEAPONS STORM SHADOW FOR INSTANCE

[@anitawhite9694]

WOW! You all have these also ! 😮 Cool!!

[@stephen7571]

If I were the enemy, I would make a missile with super reflective mirrors?

[@thetruthhurts7675]

Ridiculous!

[@stephen7571]

@@thetruthhurts7675 !soulucidir I kniht ton. 😀😀😀

[@darrylrarmstrong]

Bloody he'll. This should be in the next Bond movie! 😂

[@allanstewart8385]

Such a simple solution to a multi million pound weapon , applause is deserved

[@dougaltolan3017]

Your missile would be too heavy to fly

[@BritishFreedom]

These would be great for knocking out drone swarms.

[@ashleygoggs5679]

Not really. For a laser to shoot down a drone quick enough to fight back a swarm it would have to destory each drone in less then a second. But the lasers dont work like that, they target weak but critical parts of a of a drone/plane/missiles such as wings or where the guidance systems are. However it takes a good few seconds becuase it needs to heat and melt things. Its most practical case would be against hypersonics once the technology is better, more efficient and more powerful.

[@Talshere88]

​@ashleygoggs5679 the US stryker armed with a laser point defence has seen great success shooting down drone swarms. As well as successfully intercepting incoming motar rounds. This tech absolutely can be used against drone swarms, and incoming projectiles.

[@ashleygoggs5679]

@@Talshere88 Have you got a video or a source id love to see it. Becuase i havnt seen this tech being closely viable to causing that much defence.

[@victor-uranium]

They shot a drone down today @@ashleygoggs5679

[@mrbaab5932]

​@@ashleygoggs5679Do some calculations. When the drones are fired on at km+ ranges, they take a long time to get to the target. Also think what happens when explosive containers and fuel tanks are heated up. Don't need to melt anything to get an explosion.

[@jnmcc7782]

The UK has become the first to produce Pulse lasers unlike other countries.

[@brianmitchell8904]

loved the video

[@michaelparks7177_BritOz]

You know that the Aussies hooked up their planet-finding algo to gun to shoot down drones etc. It’d be interesting to know if there’s a back-end synergy there. Good they hook up your laser to their algo? Or have you already done that?

[@stephenmuir5030]

AU and UK are both partners (with the US) in the AUKUS pillar 2 programme, which is intended to share technologies, so, if it hasn't happened already, it probably will before too long, especially as the programme ramps up and reaches maturity. commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9842/

[@krisdavison9355]

Brilliant now mass build train in numbers how to use and prepare

[@savethebeesplantherbs8809]

TEST THEM ON WESTMINSTER NO REAL LOSS THERE

[@petereriksson7166]

UK the leader of Europe.

[@justinmorgan2126]

Reason it is always going to be a niche system no matter how good it is is simply because it can only hit what it can see.. unlike projectile weapons. Also it is relatively easy to defeat the system with very cheap methods. As a result in reality it can only be effective at sea and possibly in the air and even then it helps greatly if the object you're hitting is static or slow and not manoeuvring. This weapons platform is never going to work on land except as a very expensive way of picking off mortar/artillery fire so long as they don't start painting the shells white or using chaff dispensing munitions.

[@mrbaab5932]

White paint will boil off on the first shot. These are Infrared lasers and not visible lasers. Chaff is good fir radar but ineffective against Infrared and visible tracking. It is easier for these systems to hit a moving target than by a missile or bullet. Look up light speed. These kinds of systems have been tested for 30 years. Everything you said is wrong and uninformed.

[@CharlesSalvato]

phasers on stun

[@chriswiles8617]

Guess it line of site only. Doesn’t have trajectory ? So can’t shoot from behind protective ground?

[@justandy333]

What would happen if they covered an incoming missile with a bunch of mirrors?

[@christopherrobinson7541]

That does not work.

[@justandy333]

@@christopherrobinson7541 Do elaborate.

[@pem...]

​@@justandy333the mirrors would have to be some super high grade materials as i imagine the beam is FAR too intense to just reflect off of any old mirrors without fukin it up. Just my guess 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@txt5173]

dragon fire!

[@elliotlambert3817]

will the Chinese allow the UK to purchase the components necessary to produce these weapons.

[@darrylrarmstrong]

I fucking want one on my van!

[@AJ-qn6gd]

That would be one way of taking out ULEZ cameras 👍🏻🇬🇧

[@darrylrarmstrong]

Cor! Imagine that??😂

[@stephenbesley3177]

I wonder how it does against Klingons? Next... photon torpedoes please

[@bloggalot4718]

Thales a French government company now owns Shorts of Belfast.

[@thescouselander5531]

Pew pew lasers!

[@jonathanlel9033]

Will it still work on mirrored surfaces?

[@smiffykuk]

If not… its totally useless. 😏

[@peterazlac1739]

If these are land based they will end up blacking out the country before they stop the missiles. What happens if the missiles or drones have a mirror finish and reflect the beam back?

[@christopherpinnock7900]

Looks interesting this may be answer for defending city From missile and drone attacks

[@ashleygoggs5679]

if it can be scaled yes. However lasers have one huge draw back and thats the enviroment. if its foggy or cloudy the lasers energy suffers vast diminshing returns. Then there is a power supply problem, lasers need shit tons of energy.

[@someolddude7076]

It’s always an arms race, and high tech can usually be overcome with simple low tech What they don’t want you to know is this tech can be easily defeated with mirrors 100s of millions of dollars in R&D and 100s of millions more in equipment, beaten with $5 of Chrome paint.

[@oakguard]

so this is how Turbolasers were developed

[@peteratkin3788]

Are these Cruella missiles?

[@JohnAtkinson-wl2bw]

So the Weapon is Not ready yet.

[@christopherrobinson7541]

The next step is a full scale system demonstrator.

[@simplyphil.photography164]

Beam me up Mr Scott l have no further need to be here!!!

[@techtitanuk5609]

Send a ship with laser weapons to the red sea and put it to the test

[@user_375a82]

Please get these out to Ukraine

[@StevenWarren-h1e]

We need to keep up with technology and not like beyond Are possible enemies. I hope they are never used four real but we need the best If we haven't got the biggest army, at least we need the best army and Air Force. And navy It's alright saying we need money for hospitals. But if we can't protect ourselves, we won't need the hospitals. We will all be dead.

[@harryc1971]

Could this be scaled up for ICBM defence?

[@seniorslaphead8336]

Google says warhead terminal velocity is somewhere between 7.5km to 9.5km per second... good luck tracking that with anything. Best place to destroy an ICBM is in space before it deploys the warheads.

[@ashleygoggs5679]

@@seniorslaphead8336 technically if you could figure out a powersource this could be done in space, there is no real interference due to space being a vaccuum making lasers far more effective.

[@KenFullman]

@@ashleygoggs5679There's a convention forbidding that but I'm not sure the UK signed up to that.

[@ashleygoggs5679]

@@KenFullman ive enever heard of it. I also dont see how a laser made for self defence against icbms and hypersonics would be an issue worth making a treaty over.

[@Mike-sv2nu]

That's great, until they give their drones a mirror finish.

[@alanfrost4661]

Whats the point when invaders come in rubber boats

[@Orbital_Inclination]

They're civilians, not invaders, get a grip

[@pem...]

​@@Orbital_Inclinationdo you not go outside or watch the news or even use your own senses?! It's an invasion, they admit it!!!

[@rjsmith6698]

I’m going to have to reflect on this development for a while.🤔

[@septia101]

Any excuse to laze about 😇

[@tedcrilly46]

@@septia101 watt?

[@revb0]

What if the targets are mirror finished?

[@dougaltolan3017]

They are too heavy to fly.

[@MyKelvin89]

It it’s working on heat it will just burn through

[@grahamlongley8298]

We cannot even supply enough energy for our EV cars. How on earth can we fight a war with it?

[@grahamlongley8298]

@cjjk9142 Our latest ships are NOT nuclear powered.Even our carriers are running on old technology. & they cannot get that right Ha Ha

[@kanal756]

Orhan ,13, insansız dünya yörüngesinde n 20000km uzaklıkta uydu monteli 45000kw lazer topu entegre ettim insansı robot pilotlar kullanacak

[@JasonCallaghan-q3w]

Does it run off aa or aaa batterys😂

[@allanstewart8385]

You want to be hiring styropyro

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

That means that Russia cannot target the UK.

[@prophetsnake]

so, not ready to be used. Got it.

[@aex-blacksmithuk2111]

Lasor's have been around for years (1970's minimum), but needed their own power station as they use massive amounts of power. So what is the power pack they are using, if they are putting such things on helicopter, tanks, lorry, etc ? It would have to be small, but give out massive amount of power. As I don't think they will be using lithium Iron battery's some how! So I ask again, what is the power pack?

[@craigconey9971]

As if they would tell you

[@Pax_Veritas]

Diesel-electric, gas turbine or nuclear. The fuel is used to spin a generator/electromagnet to produce electricity

[@entropy5431]

​@@Pax_VeritasI'm glad I'm not the only one. 👍🤭

[@ashleygoggs5679]

Lasers wont be on small vehicles or aircraft anytime soon, or ateast not ones that wil be used for destruction. Thats for the very reason you stated. However they can easily be used in a missile defence set up be it part of a patriot system or a standalone defence system and it will most likely be used on ships if anything. Athough they wouldnt use batteries as much as they would use super conductors to store the energy just before usage. Conductors can store vast amounts of energy for short durations making them ideal for lasers. You just need a power unit that can effectively do everything.

[@dougaltolan3017]

Guessing 10% efficiency would mean 5MW generator, that's the size of a shipping container.

[@paulcoverdale8312]

So is this goin on Destroyers or flag ships ????❤❤❤❤

[@darrylrarmstrong]

Absolutely everything. Even the ones on a boating lake!

[@ashleygoggs5679]

the end goal would be to have them on all ships. If all ships in a carrier group focused their beams on a hypersonic missile as an example theres a greater chance of destroying it. While also having many ships with it means you have a better chance of surviving saturation attacks.

[@heathclitheroe9955]

It's a Start to end friendly hire from yanks

[@mikefandango294]

As someone that did full service in the UK armed forces, it will be underpowered and shit! Why is Israel and US using something similar that is twice as powerful?

[@GuardsVeteransMountaineeringCl]

i can imagine its not much use against soft targets like UAV

[@aliasmiles6711]

Rock Paper PiuPiu

[@titussteenhuisen8864]

Test it in Ukraine

[@Bob_Dub]

Ah, an MOD-funded superweapon built by the private sector? So we can expect it to come in 10x over-budged and 5x behind schedule, only to be cancelled at the last second due to new budget constraints, as per usual? 🤔 Better yet, it comes in on time and within budget, but what gets delivered is a 5mW laser pen from Aliexpress! 😂

[@williambuchanan77]

The problem is those things are extremely expensive and may be tempremental.

[@alex-E7WHU]

Like a wife.

[@williambuchanan77]

@@alex-E7WHU Covid comes to mind with those 😂😂

[@Orbital_Inclination]

Most sophisticated weapons are expensive

[@williambuchanan77]

@@Orbital_Inclination at the expense of the taxpayer. War is getting more expensive as time goes on. In future, I suspect, it will be a valid strategy to keep a nation at war for long enough to cripple their economy them offer them expensive loans.

[@Orbital_Inclination]

@@williambuchanan77 that's essentially what the US did during WWII. It sat back and watched as other major nations collapsed or expended their national wealth, then offered them massive loans and lend-leases.

[@scoobysienna]

knock the electric out..? so there useless

[@George10767]

I imagine that a laser weapon can be defeated by chromium-plating.

[@christopherrobinson7541]

No chromium-plating does not work as a countermeasure.

[@1966babysnakes]

at 44 seconds in, all the operators appear to be chinese, what a load of bollocks.

[@nicholaspostlethwaite9554]

So drones and missiles will be painted with mirror finish paint materials. Light may not be that useful!

[@ashleygoggs5679]

no becuase a mirror finish also makes you visible to other forms of radar and sighting systems, meaning any other defence has a better chance at spotting you. There is a reason missiles already dont have a mirror finish.

[@nicholaspostlethwaite9554]

@@ashleygoggs5679 Ok, then things change. So coatings need to be able to switch over to reflectivity if sensing lasers, chameleon like. I dare say people are working on how to get past lasers already by those that have them, so they can counter them when enemies get them. Same old 'arms race'

[@ashleygoggs5679]

@@nicholaspostlethwaite9554 maybe, but as long as something can be seen it can be targeted by a last, it dosnt matter how much you mitigate the energy, energy is still lost on the target making it targetable.

[@bobthebomb1596]

Click bait title does not bode well.

[@deesmith6363]

Just a heads up. When you post a video with a bullshit thumbnail like that, people roll their eyes and hit the "not interested" button.

[@keithdeley7236]

Everythings super to the. Yanks

[@tomdane]

Oktober 2023: The future is already here in the form of the Israeli “Iron Beam” defeating terrorist rockets from Hamas

[@upkarak]

Why waste money when simple fog o smoke screen can render them useless?

[@christopherrobinson7541]

The sensors operate on several wavelengths so cannot be blocked by simple fog or smoke.

[@Orbital_Inclination]

That also applies to IR missiles, and yet we've used them for decades. They won't be the only weapon on board, just a very good short range option.

[@brendanpells912]

Hitting a slow flying drone a few km away isn't like trying to hit a supersonic sea-skimming missile head-on, especially if the missile has mirrored surfaces and a seeker head that homes in on the laser. It won't compensate for the Royal Navy having so few ships.

[@thetruthhurts7675]

That is what this is for. Hitting a low flying hypersonic missile is easy, they fly straight, and low, and no where near the speed of light. A missile with a mirrored surface? What are they going to do fit it just before launch? I am seriously rolling on the floor in laughter here!! I also spit my coffe out at your reply it is so juvenial, and funny!! Plus the laser can hit it after it has passed by whilst Starstreak can destroy it head on, as can sea Ceptor, this is what it is designed to do.

[@brendanpells912]

@@thetruthhurts7675 Don't be silly, they design the missile in the first place with a highly polished surface that reflects most of the laser radiation. Did you think it would be a glass mirror?

[@thetruthhurts7675]

@@brendanpells912 I am NOT being silly, just transporting them would scratch the surface badly enough to not stop a laser. Plus Lasers are nothing new the Royal navy has had them since the 1980's. Not powerful enough to destroy anything, but powerful enough to blind pliots of incoming enemy aircraft.

[@ashleygoggs5679]

@@brendanpells912 it depends on the power of the laser. Also mirrored surfaces are counter productive becuase it makes it lose its visual stealth. If you see something shiny in the sky a scout wil notice it miles ahead giving warning. Furhter more you mentioned hypersonic missiles, problem is you cant have a mirror finish on a hypersonic atleast not when it reaches max velocity. What happens when a space shuttle or rocket reenters our atmosphere at high speeds? it starts forming hot plasma on the leading edges, this is the same thing for hypersonics as they would be travelling 7kmph minimum (to be classes as hypersonic) and at a low (sea skimming) altitude like you say where the atmosphere is at its densist, then the hypersonic at max q is naturally going to hit this plasma barrier... what happens to surfaces when they heat up lad? they go black and singed and therefore you just lost your mirrored finish making a laser easier to take it down.

[@chethemerc7841]

Mirrored missiles?? Ha ha ha

[@markthompson6540]

Is it any good against corrupt untrustworthy undemocratic WHO WEF and small rubber boats? Otherwise its a waste of money.

[@Orbital_Inclination]

How are the tin foil stocks this year? Healthy reserve?

[@markthompson6540]

@@Orbital_Inclination probably going up in value as shiny tin can help reflect lasers . Love the military industrial complex. Can always afford sxxt like this. But USA number 1 cause of bankruptcy...medical bills.

[@Bird_McBride]

All silly

[@dc-4ever201]

This was all announced years ago, why has it not advanced? They had a working system 4 years back but needed to scale up it's power, so nothing new to announce?

[@peckelhaze6934]

Hasn't the government updated you?

[@ashleygoggs5679]

Becuase Lasers are a very tricky technology to master, atleast with the purpose of destruction. The reason lasers take so slow to evolve is a few factors; Power draw, efficiency, energy and atmosphere. Power drawn becuase focusing such a precise beam of energy requires an immense amount of power at one time, this kind of problem is the same as what holds electric cars back. Efficiency, this comes off the back of power draw. You need a very efficient way to maximize the most amount of energy from the power that you have drawn. Energy, using lasers as beams of destruction isnt like the movies, the beams slowly cook the target this is why lazers are good at taking down drones or sensitive equipment such is sighting systems. The effects arnt instantaneous, you dont point a laser and things go boom, you need to paint the target in a static spot to cook the material. Atmosphere, the atmosphere has a huge impact on the energy of the laser, if its foggy or raining this can cause the lasers energy to scatter giving the lasers beam huge diminishing returns in its capability. Scientists need to figure out how to get around this hurdle. Atmosphere is the main real lasers arnt in active service becuase if your going to use them you need to be able to use them in all types of weather. All major top tier nations are working on lasers and non of them have figured out all 4 points to make lasers a true point defence right now.