Germany's Navy is On Track to Put Laser Weapon in Series Production
The German military is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in the development of a real-world laser weapons system for shipboard deployment, a big bet on one of the most challenging frontier technologies in defense.
The German defense procurement agency, BAAINBw, has contracted with MBDA and Rheinmetall for the further development of the High-Energy Laser Naval Demonstrator. The partnership (ARGE HEL) has been refining this system for years, and they believe that they can field a working system by 2029. They've already put a prototype out to sea, and (they report) with considerable success.
The MBDA-Rheinmetall engineering team has been working on a laser defensive-fire system for seven years. A recent demonstrator unit, which was installed aboard the frigate Sachsen and trialed for about one year of service, worked "precisely, quickly and with minimal collateral damage," according to Rheinmetall.
The defense conglomerate says that its naval laser is capable of tracking a target measuring the size of a small coin, without slipping off the focus area and striking something behind it. That precision means that the laser can achieve target destruction with less power, since the energy is concentrated in a smaller area. It also new safety benefits for warships sailing in formation or operating in close proximity to infrastructure: conventional CIWS guns will hit anything behind the aerial target as well as the target itself, but the laser will not inflict collateral damage.
that matters most
Get the latest maritime news delivered to your inbox daily.
"The laser weapon system will provide significantly greater protection for our soldiers deployed on naval vessels, especially against drones. Series production will largely take place in Germany, creating new training and employment opportunities," said Rheinmetall weapons chief Roman Koehne in a statement. As a containerized unit, the laser could also be used for point defense in seaports and other locations, according to its developers.
As Russia's drone warfare community is openly preparing for a "big war with NATO," and many Western defense strategists expect a conflict with Russia in EU border states by the end of the decade, Germany's need for a high-volume, low-cost anti-drone air defense system is acute. If the MBDA/Rheinmetall design is successfully fielded as a production unit, it would be among the first deployed systems of its kind in the world.
