Royal Navy could bring four laser ‘death ray’ weapons that can destroy a £1 coin from a kilometre away into service in just two years under defence spending boost

Four Royal Navy warships will be fitted with futuristic lasers capable of zapping a £1 coin from a mile away as part of Rachel Reeve’s £2.2bn defence spending boost.

The spaced-aged ‘death ray’, dubbed ‘DragonFire’, is used to blow up missiles, jets and swarms of explosive suicide drones.

The formidable ‘directed-energy weapon’ costs just £10 per shot and can burn unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) out of the sky from three miles away.

Military top brass have been eager to rush the devastating lasers into service to meet the threat posed by Russia’s UAVs and hypersonic missiles, which have proven alarmingly effective in Ukraine. 

And the recent surge in the use of cheap drones used to target ships in the Middle East – like the one that Houthi rebels in Yemen used to blast British oil ship Cordelia Moon in October last year – has also left defence chiefs fearful.

As part of her Spring Statement on Wednesday, the Chancellor confirmed by 2027 the high-powered lasers would be fitted to four warships. Prior to this, the Ministry of Defence said that just one prototype would be installed onto a single vessel. 

Admiral Lord Alan West, the former head of the Royal Navy, said DragonFire would stop multi-million pound missiles being used to destroy cheap drones, that cost only a few hundred pounds each.

‘These can become war-winners and potentially give us the edge,’ the retired Cold War commander told MailOnline of the new lasers. ‘You could kill huge drone swarm attacks and defeat them all, again and again.

The laser rollout comes amid a recent surge in the use of cheap drones used to target ships in the Read Sea, like the one that blasted British oil ship Cordelia Moon (pictured) in October 2024

‘We have discovered how expensive missiles are in terms of shooting down quite cheap attack platforms like drones. So, there’s a lot of merit of in having a system that can deliver a guaranteed kill for a fraction of the price.’ 

Military chiefs have not yet confirmed which ships will be equipped with the deadly new devices, which have already cost about £140million to develop. 

However, MailOnline understands four of Britain’s six Type 45 destroyers – as air defence warships – will now be fitted with the lasers.

Britain’s two £3billion aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales could also potentially have them installed at a later date, defence sources claimed. 

Both class of warships will have enough power to run the energy-sapping lasers. 

Military top brass hope DragonFire could replace multi-million pound missiles like the navy’s Sea Viper system used against Houthi rebel drones and rockets over the Red Sea, saving millions of pounds for the military.

In her speech on Wednesday, the Chancellor said the UK must ‘move quickly in a changing world’ to up its defence commitment.

She pledged to ‘boost Britain’s defence industry and to make the UK a defence industrial superpower’.

Declassified footage released by the Ministry of Defence has shown Britain’s DragonFire laser-directed energy weapon (LDEW) system successfully hitting aerial targets

DragonFire is Britain’s first-ever laser weapon and is now being fitted onto Royal Navy ships

The hi-tech new weapons could be fitted to some of the Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyers (pictured is one of the vessels, HMS Diamond in the Bay of Biscay)

The weapon system could burn drones and missiles out of the sky. Pictured are replicas of drones made by Houthi rebels in Yemen to attack ships in the Red Sea 

She also dedicated 10 per cent of the Ministry of Defence’s equipment budget to ‘novel technologies including drones and AI-enabled technology’.

The extra funding is being put on the table as the Government aims to hike defence spending to 2.5 per cent of the UK’s economic output by 2027.

It will take spending to 2.36 per cent next year, with Ms Reeves saying it was the ‘right decision in a more insecure world’.

The UK and other Nato members have been facing pressure from the increasingly hostile Trump administration to up their spending and rely less on the US.

Earlier this week it was revealed vice president JD Vance said he hated ‘bailing Europe out’ and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said ‘European freeloading’ was ‘pathetic’.

The comments were made in a Signal group chat to which a journalist was mistakenly invited by the US national security adviser.

Shadow chancellor Mel Stride urged the Chancellor to ‘go further’, adding: ‘The three per cent target should be brought forward to this parliament.’

The Chancellor said the UK must ‘move quickly in a changing world’ to up its defence commitment in her Spring Statement in the Commons

The extra funding is being put on the table as the Government aims to hike defence spending to 2.5 per cent of the UK’s economic output by 2027

‘So, can I ask (Ms Reeves), given the geopolitical tensions that she has raised, what provision has she made in her headroom, in her fiscal plans, for increasing defence spending more quickly in this parliament, if that proves necessary?

‘And could I ask her, would she scrap the absurd Chagos deal and put that money … behind our armed forces?’

In February Sir Keir announced the Government would increase defence spending to reach 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, with a target of upping that further to 3 per cent in the next parliament.

But critics have warned this is not enough to see off the threat from Russia, at a time when the Armed Forces are struggling for manpower and equipment delays.

Lib Dem defence spokeswoman Helen Maguire said: ‘The Chancellor’s announcement of an additional £2.2bn on defence spending is welcome news. However, we believe the Government must go further and faster than 2.5 per cent by 2027. That’s why we are calling for cross-party talks on getting to three per cent.’

Ms Reeves told the Commons: ‘This increase in investment is not just about increasing our national security but increasing our economic security, too. As defence spending rises, I want the whole country to feel the benefits.’

The April funding increase will help pay for new technologies, like long range laser and microwave weapons – collectively known as directed energy weapons – which will be fitted to warships.

Homes for military families will, meanwhile, be refurbished, including the 36,000 recently brought back into public ownership from the private rented sector.

HM Naval Base Portsmouth will also be upgraded with the extra cash, the Treasury said.

Ministers hope to create jobs in manufacturing and technology across the UK as they ramp up defence spending, with the aim of reaching their goal of growing the economy.

Demonstrators have gathered on Whitehall to protest against cuts in the Chancellor’s Spring Statement, calling for ‘welfare not warfare’

Asked how he felt about being called a pathetic freeloader, Mr Healey told Times Radio: ‘I regard it more as a challenge’

Leftie demonstrators gathered on Whitehall to protest against cuts in the Chancellor’s spring statement, calling for ‘welfare not warfare’. 

Protesters – from groups including Stop The War Coalition, Disabled People Against Cuts and Socialist Worker – convened outside Downing Street ahead of the statement’s delivery.

They held signs that read: ‘Cuts kill’ and ‘Cut war not welfare’, as well as a large banner saying: ‘Welfare not warfare’.

One woman was pictured holding a sign that said: ‘You are killing my mum to bomb someone’s son’.

Asked how he felt about being called a pathetic freeloader, the UK Defence Secretary John Healey told Times Radio on Wednesday: ‘I regard it more as a challenge.’ 

He added: ‘The Americans have absolutely got a case that on defence spending, on European security, on our support for Ukraine, European nations can and will do more, and the UK is leading the way.’