The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has released information on its Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon (RFDEW), capable of simultaneously mitigating multiple drone threats.
Developed by Team Hersa, a collaboration between Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) and Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), the RFDEW system can detect, track, and engage various land, air, and sea threats.
The RFDEW system can target threats up to 1 km away, with ongoing efforts to extend this range. It uses radio waves to disrupt or damage the critical electronic components of enemy vehicles, causing them to halt or crash.
Costing only 10p (13 cents) per shot, the RFDEW beam provides a highly cost-effective alternative to traditional missile-based air defense systems, capable of instantly neutralizing dangerous drone swarms.
With a high level of automation, the system can be operated by a single person, offering an effective solution for protecting and defending critical assets and bases.
RFDEW technology can be mounted on various military vehicles and uses a mobile power source to generate pulses of Radio Frequency energy. These pulses can be directed in a beam to rapidly fire sequenced shots at individual targets or widen to simultaneously engage all threats within the beam’s range.
The next steps for RFDEW involve extensive field testing with British soldiers over the summer.
The push to accelerate directed energy weapons is part of a broader effort to bolster the UK’s defense industry, following the Prime Minister’s recent announcement to increase the defense budget to 2.5% of GDP by 2030.
Post Image Credit- UK Ministry of Defence
