LONDON (Reuters) -Britain on Thursday awarded a 316-million-pound ($413 million) contract to missile company MBDA UK to provide DragonFire laser systems for the Royal Navy, under a plan to add new technology to ships to counter potential drone attacks.
Below are key facts about the contract:
• Laser system costs 10 pounds per shot, making it much more cost-effective compared to traditional missile systems which cost hundreds of thousands of pounds
• DragonFire will be fitted to a Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer by 2027, government statement says
• The technology recently shot down high-speed drones in new trials, government adds
• MBDA UK will work in partnership with Britain’s QinetiQ and Italy’s Leonardo on DragonFire
• Contract will sustain 590 jobs across the UK, government says
($1 = 0.7656 pounds)
(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti, writing by Sarah Young; Editing by Muvija M and Mark Heinrich)
