British soldiers take down drone swarm in groundbreaking use of radio wave weapon

British soldiers have successfully tracked, targeted and defeated swarms of drones in the latest trial of a new directed energy weapon developed in the UK.

The trial was completed at a weapons range in West Wales and was the largest counter-drone swarm exercise the British Army have conducted to date.

The weapon system demonstrator is a type of Radiofrequency Directed Energy Weapon (RF DEW) and has proven capable of neutralising multiple targets simultaneously with near-instant effect.

The UK Government has invested more than £40 million in RF DEW research and development to date, supporting 135 highly skilled jobs in Northern Ireland and the South-East of England.

It uses high frequency radio waves to disrupt or damage critical electronic components inside drones, causing them to crash or malfunction. 

At an estimated cost of 10p per shot fired, if developed into operational service it could provide a cost-effective complement to traditional missile-based air defence systems. 

RF DEW systems can defeat airborne targets at ranges of up to 1km and are effective against threats which cannot be jammed using electronic warfare.

The successful trial comes as drone swarms are increasingly seen in use in frontline combat in Ukraine. UK Defence Intelligence estimates that last year Ukraine had to defend against attacks from more than 18,000 drones.

With national security a foundation for the Plan for Change, the government is significantly increasing the proportion of MOD's equipment procurement spend on novel technologies, spending at least 10% from 2025-26. It follows the announcement of the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War, as the UK will spend 2.5% of GDP on defence by April 2027.

Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, Rt Hon Maria Eagle MP, said:

“This significant experiment exemplifies the strength of British innovation - driven by our home-grown industry, technology firms and scientific talent. 

“We continue to strengthen our defence sector, adding more cutting-edge capabilities to keep the UK secure at home and strong abroad, while making defence an engine for growth across our towns and cities.”

The project has been delivered by Team Hersa – a collaboration between Defence Equipment & Support and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. The RF DEW demonstrator has been developed by an industry consortium led by Thales UK.

Successful experiments included the Army taking down two swarms of drones in a single engagement, and the project saw more than 100 drones being tracked, engaged and defeated using the weapon across all trials.

Sgt Mayers, a Senior Remotely-Piloted Air Systems Operator from 106 Regiment Royal Artillery, had the honour of being the first British soldier to bring down drones using a radiofrequency weapon.

Sgt Mayers said:

“RF DEW is an exciting concept. We found the demonstrator quick to learn and easy to use. With improvements on range and power, which could come with further development, this would be a great asset to Layered Air Defence.”

Protecting national security is the foundation of the Government's Plan for Change and the development of RF DEW systems could help to protect the UK from unidentified drones at security sensitive areas such as defence bases, and could play a role in preventing disruption at airports. 

The RF DEW development supports the Defence Industrial Strategy – to support the UK defence industry in mobilising to help face down global threats and ensuring the sector is an engine for growth in every region and nation of the UK. The MOD is working with a range of industry partners to deliver powerful future RF DEW capabilities for UK forces.

Thales, which led the development of the RF DEW demonstrator, employ around 100 highly skilled engineering and manufacturing staff in Northern Ireland on the project, and there are a further 30-35 highly skilled supply chain jobs in Chelmsford, Essex, that directly contribute to the development of the weapon demonstrator. 

Nigel MacVean, MD of Thales Integrated Airspace-protection Systems, said: 

“Thales continues to be at the forefront of this pioneering technology, and we are proud to continue the research and development in this sector alongside our partners in Government.”