MBDA showcases hybrid high-energy laser, interceptor counter-drone system

BERLIN — As Europe struggles with drone incursions and proliferation of uncrewed systems rise on the battlefields of Ukraine, MBDA today presented what it’s calling a novel solution at the Berlin Air Show: a turret mounted high-energy laser paired with a missile interceptor system.

The European missile house says that the hybrid platform, which could enter service with Germany before the end of the decade, has been designed to address the “growing challenge of small, fast, and low-cost unmanned aerial threats.” The pairing of the DEWS-L laser weapon and the company’s DEFENDAIR guided missile offers “overlapping engagement envelopes.”

The laser is specifically intended to neutralize close-range targets, including drone swarms, as depicted in an infographic presented by company officials during a press briefing. 

The new combo comes as militaries, and therefore defense firms, the world over race to combat the threat of drones and missiles without breaking the bank on pricey interceptors. Israel, for instance, has reportedly operationally deployed its Iron Beam laser air defense system.

MBDA plays a leading role in other laser-based programs, including spurring development of the UK’s DragonFire system, which is estimated to cost less than £10 ($13) a strike. In 2024, the high-tech asset shot down airborne targets at a test range in northwest Scotland, a first for the UK.

MBDA’s rollout of the DEWS-L and DEFENDAIR system also arrives as the company is making a strong push to develop and sustain German and European deep precision strike capabilities with an expanding product portfolio that also includes one-way attack drones, next-generation guided missiles, as well as hypersonic weapons.

Those efforts align with changes in customer behavior too. Thomas Gottschild, managing director at MBDA Germany, said that Berlin, for example, has somewhat shifted away from air defense toward prioritising precision strike capabilities. He also stressed, however, that demand has “exploded” for conventional munitions as the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East see so many stockpiles tested.

“[T]o replenish this demand, it will take quite a while. That is for us, as an industry, an additional challenge, but also an opportunity,” he noted.