GLENROTHES, Scotland\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Britain is set to take its first major step toward\u00a0fielding a laser directed energy weapon next month when the Ministry of Defence is due to select a contractor to build a technology demonstrator to validate the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MoD officials could select a winning contractor to build the demonstrator as early as June 3, \u200eaccording to Andy Rhodes, a business development executive at Raytheon UK, told reporters during a briefing at the company’s plant here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200eRaytheon is part of a Babcock-led consortium vying for the deal in a competition which also includes MBDA, Lockheed Martin, Thales UK and Rheinmetall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Babcock team also includes Leonardo-Finmeccanica (Selex) supplying the optronics and a Qinetiq developed laser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qinetiq is thought to be supplying its laser to at least three of the contenders for the competition being run by the governments defense laboratory DSTL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Adopting a contender with Qinetiq lasers would help maintain local capability in a field dominated recently by US and German advances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rhodes said \u200ethe first firing of the laser weapon could take place in 2018, confirming what the then-First Sea Lord Adm. Sir George Zambellas told a conference at last year’s DSEI exhibition in London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first tests will take\u200e place on land followed by firings at sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The target is expected to be an unmanned aircraft although the laser test system is planned to have the power to take down a missile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Babcock team \u200eis offering a modified truck-mounted version of Raytheon’s Phalanx close in anti-missile with the gun removed to make way for the laser. The radars and other systems will stay in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Rhodes said that using elements of the truck-mounted system, used to protect UK \u200ebases in Iraq, ensured the research and development money was focused on the laser and not the mounting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It’s better to spend money on the laser than on the mount,” Rhodes said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The executive said he would expect the program to lead to further development work, probably a full-up program to equip the Royal Navy\u200e with a directed energy weapon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raytheon showed a possible configuration for a deployable system with a laser and the 20mm Phalanx fitted alongside radars, flir and optronics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Royal Navy already widely uses the Phalanx across its fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
British are in the \u200ethroes of upgrading a weapon being fitted to two new aircraft carriers, Type 26 frigates, and support ships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rhodes said he expected the Royal Navy would add to its stock of Phalanx by purchasing \u200eadditional weapons at some point.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
British Ministry of Defence is due to select a contractor to build a technology demonstrator to validate a directed energy laser system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":77348,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3351],"class_list":["post-35386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pentagon"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"ZE55R27QRBBQNB636JLJQZ4PKM","arc_canonical_url":"\/pentagon\/2016\/05\/25\/britain-to-name-contractor-for-testing-laser-weapon\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n