An invisible radio wave weapon has taken down ‘drone swarms’ in the biggest trial conducted by the British military to date.
The directed energy system has tracked, targeted and neutralised more than 100 uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the first time.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the ‘groundbreaking’ trial completed at a weapons range in west Wales is the largest counter-drone swarm exercise the British Army has conducted.
The threat posed by UAVs to the country’s critical infrastructure has been demonstrated by the continued reports of their presence over or near sensitive sites across the UK.
In November, widespread drone activity was reported above and in the vicinity of RAF bases including Lakenheath in Suffolk, the US Air Force’s biggest site in the UK, as well as at nearby Mildenhall, Feltwell in Norfolk and Fairford in Wiltshire.
The reports followed others including one which was uncovered by the Metro revealing how up to six mystery drones had been spotted over a UK nuclear plant in a possible ‘malicious’ event.
The group of up to six UAVs was reported to armed police after being sighted over Capenhurst in Cheshire, according to the disclosure from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary.
Metro told in October 2022 how the incident was among a list of incursions over or near UK nuclear facilities.
However it is on the frontline in Ukraine where the UK-developed technology has its most pressing need — with UK Defence Intelligence estimating that the country had to defend itself against attacks from more than 18,000 Russian-launched drones last year.
The new counter-measure comes in the form of a Radio-frequency Directed Energy Weapon (RF DEW), which is ‘capable of neutralising multiple targets simultaneously with near-instant effect’, the MoD said.
More than £40 million has been invested by the government in RF DEW research and development to date, supporting 135 jobs in Northern Ireland and the south east of England.
High-frequency radio waves emitted by the British-made weapon are used to disrupt or damage critical electronic components inside drones, causing them to crash or malfunction.
The MoD claims the weapon, which costs less than 10p to fire, could provide a cost-effective complement to traditional missile-based air defence systems if it passes into operational service.
Airborne targets can be defeated at ranges of up to 1km by RF DEW systems and can be used against threats which cannot be jammed using electronic warfare.
Maria Eagle, Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, said: ‘This significant experiment exemplifies the strength of British innovation, driven by our home-grown industry, technology firms and scientific talent.
‘We continue to strengthen our defence sector, adding more cutting-edge capabilities to keep the UK secure at home and strong abroad, while making defence an engine for growth across our towns and cities.’
Successful experiments included the Army taking down two swarms in a single engagement, and the project saw more than 100 drones being tracked, engaged and defeated using the weapon across all trials.
The MoD said the development of RF DEW systems could help to protect the UK from unidentified drones at security-sensitive areas such as defence bases, and could play a role in preventing disruption at airports.
Sgt Mayers, a senior remotely-piloted air systems operator from 106 Regiment Royal Artillery, had the honour of being the first British soldier to bring down drones using a radio-frequency weapon.
Sgt Mayers said: ‘RF DEW is an exciting concept. We found the demonstrator quick to learn and easy to use.
‘With improvements on range and power, which could come with further development, this would be a great asset to Layered Air Defence.’
The project has been delivered by Team Hersa – a collaboration between Defence Equipment & Support and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. The RF DEW demonstrator has been developed by an industry consortium led by Thales UK.
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