UK Successfully Develops Radiowave Weapons That Can Drop More Than 100 Drones

JAKARTA - The British Army has developed advanced weapons that can shoot down more than 100 unmanned aircraft, according to the country's Ministry of Defense (MoD) announcement.

The Ministry of Defense last week announced that it had completed "the largest anti-aircraft training that has been carried out by the British Army to date".

In one attempt, the shooter from the Royal Artillery used an RFDEW ( Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon) to bring down two swarms of drones in one attack.

The device is capable of tracking, attacking, and beating a streak of more than 100 drones per attack, the Ministry of Defense said.

"We found the demonstrators quickly studied and easy to use," said Sergeant Mayers, the first soldier to successfully use the weapon, quoted from The National April 26.

"With the increase in reach and power, which can be achieved with further development, this will be a big asset for layered air defenses," he continued.

RFDEW has a limited range of 1 km and is effective against threats that traditional electronic warfare methods cannot interfere with.

Currently, these weapons must be mounted on vehicles, but advances in miniaturization technology allow them to be carried by soldiers.

RFDEW, which has benefited from an investment of 40 million pounds, has been able to "trade several targets simultaneously with nearly instant effects", MoD added.

Unlike laser-directed energy weapons such as DragonFire belonging to the army using radio frequencies, not light energy laser beams, to disrupt threats.

High-frequency radio waves disable important electronic components in unmanned aircraft, which cause them to crash or malfunction.

Each explosion costs 10p (12 cents) per shot, which is a huge savings compared to a more traditional surface-to-air defense system that can cost 1 million per missile.

Defense sources revealed that RFDEW ( Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapons) could be sent to Ukraine, where hundreds of civilians were killed in Russian drone attacks and missiles.

The successful test comes as swarms of drones are increasingly visible on the front lines of fighting in Ukraine, with British Defense Intelligence estimating last year, the country must defend itself against attacks by more than 18,000 drones.

"As the RFDEW becomes more perfect, of course it will be brought to Ukraine to see how it faces Russia's mass attacks in cities," a defense source said. "That could be a game changer," he added.

Britain is known to be increasingly focusing its attention on what the Ministry of Defense calls a "new technology", as Western troops seek to combat military developments in Ukraine and the Gaza-Israeli conflict.

The project was developed by Team Hersa, a collaboration between Defense Equipment & Support and the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory, together with defense firm Thales UK.