South Korea on Thursday announced that it is ready to start mass-producing laser weapons like those in the ‘Star Wars’ franchise to shoot down North Korean drones. According to Newsweek, the drone-killing system, called the Block-I, will be deployed later this year. With this, South Korea will become the world’s first country to deploy a technology that is being developed by several armed forces. Moreover, the country’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced that an even more powerful version is also being planned, which could be a “game changer” in the future. 

According to Newsweek, South Korea has named its laser program the “StarWars Project”. The country’s DAPA, which handles defence procurement, development and production, announced a 100 billion won contract to build the drone-killing weapon. It touted the weapon as effective and cheap and revealed that the laser is quiet and invisible, and one shot costs only 2,000 won. 

“Our country is becoming the first country in the world to deploy and operate laser weapons, and our military’s response capabilities on North Korea’s drone provocation will be further strengthened,” the agency said. 

The Times reported that Block-I uses fibre optic cables to generate a laser beam intended to be fired at relatively close range against small drones. Each shot is silent and invisible to the naked eye. It lasts 10 to 20 seconds and creates a temperature of more than 700 Celsius, which is enough to damage and disable a drone’s engine or battery. It can be fired wherever there is a sufficient supply of electricity. 

“Cost per fire is extremely cheap compared with other guided weapons,” Jo Yong-jin, a spokesman for the DAPA, told reporters in Seoul. “Responses to low-cost strike assets and weapons, such as small drones, will be able to take place very effectively and efficiently,” he added. 

South Korean aerospace company Hanwha Aerospace Co. is contracted to manufacture the weapons. Newsweek reported that DAPA is already planning to develop a more powerful, longer-ranged anti-aircraft laser weapon: the Block-II. This weapon will involve boosting the power of the laser beam to hundreds of kilowatts, with the aim of taking down larger targets like ballistic missiles and planes.

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Meanwhile, several countries, including the US, UK, Israel, Turkey, Germany and Japan have also developed laser weapons. Earlier this year, the UK’s Ministry of Defence tested a laser weapon, DragonFire, which reportedly destroyed incoming drones from several miles away during a trial. With this, the ministry hopes that it will pave the way for a low-cost alternative to missiles to shoot down targets like drones. It further said that the weapon is precise enough to hit a coin from a kilometre away. 

DragonFire will be used both by the Army and the Royal Navy as part of their future air defence capabilities.

The UK’s defence ministry on Monday released a video of its first-ever laser weapon carrying out tests. Called “DragonFire”, the high-powered laser is designed to knock drones out of the sky, according to the BBC. The ministry hopes that the test will pave the way for a low-cost alternative to missiles to shoot down targets like drones. It further said that the weapon is precise enough to hit a coin from a kilometre away, as per the report in the BBC.

Watch the video:

DragonFire is a new laser being developer by @dstlmod for the military.

Watch its first high-power firing against an aerial target.

https://t.co/D5sqIciICSpic.twitter.com/oI1xG9sK87

— Ministry of Defence (@DefenceHQ) March 11, 2024

The weapon was tested in January in Herbrides Range in Scotland. After the successful test, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps had said that the technology could reduce “the reliance on expensive ammunition, while also lowering the risk of collateral damage”.

DragonFire will be used both by the Army and the Royal Navy as part of their future air defence capabilities.

Firing the laser for 10 seconds has the cost equivalent of using a heater for just an hour, “typically less than 10 pounds per shot,” according to a UK government statement.

The UK defence ministry has not revealed the weapon’s maximum range, but the military said it can “engage with any visible target”.

“These trials have seen us take a huge step forward in realising the potential opportunities and understanding the threats posed by directed energy weapons,” The Independent quoted Paul Hollinshead, chief of the UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, as saying.

The UK has taken a major step in incorporating a laser weapon, which is being explored by the US, Germany and Israel to take out drones and missiles from the sky.

Lasers are being sought after since drones are being increasingly used in warfare across the world, as seen during the Russia-Ukraine conflict.