The Bundeswehr successfully tests a new weapon. At the end of August, the Navy uses a laser to destroy a drone at sea. The system should also be able to fend off speedboats or guided missiles.
With a laser weapon installed on the frigate “Saxony”, the Bundeswehr shot down a drone from the sky for the first time. After extensive evaluations, the armaments companies involved in the development, MBDA and Rheinmetall, rated the test, which had already been carried out in August in the Baltic Sea off the Putlos military training area, as a success.
“It’s a big step towards operational laser weapons,” the two companies said. A future high-energy laser weapon system for the Navy is therefore particularly suitable for defending against drones, drone swarms or attacking speedboats at close range. However, it could also be made more powerful and used to destroy guided missiles or mortar shells.
According to Rheinmetall, the tests with the new system began last November and will continue until mid-2023. According to the armaments company MBDA, it develops and produces guided missiles and guided missile systems for all branches of the armed forces.