Overview
- The planned company will focus first on supplying shipboard high‑energy lasers as an added self‑defense layer for the German Navy against drones and other close‑range threats, complementing guns and missiles.
- A containerized demonstrator completed more than 100 firing tests during a year at sea on the frigate Sachsen and has been returned to operation at WTD 91 in Meppen for further land‑based evaluation, including drone‑defense trials.
- The partners report successful “blue sky” engagements and say the system maintained stable tracking on a target roughly the size of a one‑euro coin at long distance during testing.
- Under the planned division of work, MBDA will handle detection, tracking, and command‑and‑control interfaces, while Rheinmetall will provide the laser source, aiming, and platform integration.
- The companies cite a plausible in‑service horizon around 2029 that depends on continued development and qualification, situating the effort within a wider European push on directed‑energy systems.