UK's microwave weapon RapidDestroyer
The UK successfully tested a high-power microwave weapon called RapidDestroyer. This marks a major step in protecting against rising drone threats. A French defense firm, Thales, led the team that developed the system.
It uses radio waves to disable drone electronics without needing traditional explosives. The weapon can stop entire drone swarms mid-flight. Tests in West Wales showed it could track and neutralize over 100 drones, including two groups of eight.
This success marks a leap in global efforts to build directed energy weapons. It comes as cheap drones reshape modern warfare, especially in conflicts like Ukraine. RapidDestroyer offers a cost-effective, wide-area defense option for today’s evolving battlefield.
However, it also raises questions about its limitations and long-term impact on warfare. The UK views the system as a vital tool against unmanned aerial threats. Unlike missiles, it emits high-frequency waves to fry drone electronics.
That causes drones to fail or crash without needing physical contact. Mounted on a flatbed truck, the system is mobile but needs strong power to operate. The Royal Artillery and 7th Air Defence Group tested it on various drone types.
The Ministry of Defence
The weapon consistently hit targets up to a kilometer away. The Ministry of Defence praised its low cost—just 10 pence per engagement. In contrast, traditional missile defenses can cost thousands per shot. This makes RapidDestroyer an affordable and effective drone defense solution.
The technology behind RapidDestroyer comes from the idea of directed energy weapons, which use focused electromagnetic energy to do precise damage without using physical projectiles.
High-power microwave systems like RapidDestroyer emit radio frequency energy bursts so strong they damage the circuits of the targeted devices.
This “hard-kill” method hurts the drone’s electronics in a way that is different from normal electronic warfare methods that use jamming to stop navigation or communication.
The system’s ability to attack multiple targets at once makes it perfect for fighting drone swarms, which are groups of small, quick unmanned systems that can get past normal defenses.
MAN Support Vehicle 6T.
The consortium led by Thales, which includes companies such as QinetiQ, Teledyne e2v, and Horiba Mira, made RapidDestroyer mostly automated so that one person could control it from a military vehicle, like a MAN Support Vehicle 6T.
Drones are so vital to modern warfare that this new development is difficult to overstate. Both Russian and Ukrainian forces have heavily utilized unmanned systems in Ukraine. Drones have caused many combat deaths.
Roman Kostenko, who is responsible for Ukraine’s parliament’s defense and intelligence committee, says that unmanned systems are to blame for up to 80% of the deaths in the conflict.
This shows how important it is to come up with effective solutions right away. Traditional defenses, like surface-to-air missiles, are becoming less useful because small drones are getting cheaper and easier to use.
A single missile can cost more than $100,000, but a simple commercial drone is only a few hundred dollars. This scenario creates an economic imbalance that helps the attacker.
RapidDestroyer’s low-cost engagements could be a solution because they allow defenders to stop threats without depleting their resources.
Tests in West Wales
The RapidDestroyer has many impressive features, but its design is a careful balance of what it can and can’t do. The system depends on microwave energy, which means that things like weather and terrain can affect how well it works.
With all the reflective surfaces and electronics in cities, the weapon may not be as accurate or have as long of a range. The truck-mounted configuration is mobile, but it makes it difficult to move things around because the system needs a lot of power to work.
During the tests in West Wales, the weapon showed that it could hit targets at a distance of about one kilometer. However, it is still difficult to make this work at longer ranges or in more complicated situations.
Experts have also warned that microwave weapons are not as suitable for use in civilian areas because they could accidentally damage non-military electronics like medical equipment or communication networks.
The development of the RapidDestroyer is part of a larger effort around the world to use directed energy weapons for air defense. Systems like the Tactical High-power Operational Responder (THOR) show that the US Air Force is a leader in this field.
Epirus THOR
THOR, which is about the size of a shipping container, also stops swarms of drones using microwaves. The Air Force successfully tested THOR against unmanned aerial systems in April 2023, showing that it could hit multiple targets at ranges that were useful for tactical purposes. The US Navy is also progressing with its Leonidas microwave weapon, designed by Epirus for use on ships.
Leonidas, unlike the RapidDestroyer, which is mounted on a truck, is made to work with naval platforms. This capability makes it an effective method to fight drones at sea.
In 2026, the Navy plans to test a similar system called Project METEOR. The goal of this system is to thwart both drones and ballistic missiles.
Other countries are also investing a significant amount of money in directed energy technologies. China has come a long way with the Hurricane-3000, a high-power microwave system that was created by NORINCO.
The Hurricane-3000 was first shown at the Zhuhai Airshow in November 2024. It can attack targets up to three kilometers away, and it protects against swarms of drones by forming a hemispherical shield.
West or China
Field tests have indicated that it can disable a lot of different unmanned systems, from small drones used for reconnaissance to bigger platforms used for attacks.
Russia, on the other hand, has focused on electronic warfare systems that can jam signals and use limited directed energy. However, Russia’s microwave weapons are not as advanced as those in the West or China.
These events around the world show how competitive the race to be the best at countering drones is. Each country is trying to solve the same strategic problem: how to protect itself against a threat that is cheap, scalable, and can be used by many people.
The history of directed energy weapons provides us more information about how important RapidDestroyer is. During the Cold War, both the US and the USSR looked into electromagnetic weapons as a way to defend against missile and aircraft threats. This is when work on microwave-based systems began.
In 2006, the US and UK tested a radio frequency demonstrator made by MBDA together. MBDA intended to use this device on cruise missiles or unmanned aerial vehicles.
These early tests paved the way for modern systems like RapidDestroyer, which use better ways to make power, design antennas, and automate tasks.
the US’s or China’s.
In the past few years, the UK has put more money into directed energy weapons. This is because drones are becoming more important in conflicts like those in Syria, Yemen, and Ukraine.
The Ministry of Defence gave £130 million in 2019 to build laser and radio-frequency demonstrators. We have scheduled field tests for 2023.
The development of the RapidDestroyer also shows the UK’s larger defense goals. The UK has focused on cheap new technologies to maximize its military budget, which is smaller than the US’s or China’s.
The consortium led by Thales has kept over 135 skilled jobs in the UK, which has helped the UK’s defense industry and advanced national security goals.
By 2027, the system should be fully integrated into the British Army’s air defense system, but the current demonstrator won’t go into service right away.
Instead, the information and experience gained from the trials in West Wales will be used to guide future versions, which could lead to a platform that is smaller or more flexible.
Patriot or Sky Sabre
Approaching layered air defenses from a tactical perspective, Rapid Destroyer has big benefits. It works well with more expensive systems like the Patriot or Sky Sabre because it is quick and doesn’t cost much. These systems are better at dealing with high-value threats like piloted aircraft or ballistic missiles.
If an enemy sends out dozens of drones to overwhelm defenses, RapidDestroyer could stop the swarm and conserve missiles for more critical threats.
But it might not work as well in some situations because it needs to see the target and can be easily stopped by electronic defenses like electromagnetic shielding on advanced drones.
The automated system makes things easier for operators, but it also makes me wonder how to make decisions in complicated places where both friendly and hostile drones may be flying close by.
RapidDestroyer has effects on geopolitics that go beyond the battlefield. NATO allies are facing more threats from both state and non-state actors using drones. The UK’s purchase of microwave weapons makes the alliance’s ability to defend itself stronger.
The system’s ability to deter enemies who use inexpensive unmanned systems could alter the cost-benefit analysis of asymmetric warfare. But there are also risks that come with the spread of directed energy technologies.
Counter-Defenses
If less honest governments or non-state actors get their hands on similar systems, they could use them to damage civilian infrastructure or silence dissenters because the technology can target any electronic device in a city.
Going forward, the RapidDestroyer’s success is likely to lead to more new offensive and defensive technologies. Drone makers may respond by developing systems that improve electromagnetic shielding or navigation, eliminating the need for potentially hackable electronics.
These types of advancements have the potential to reduce the effectiveness of current microwave weapons, thereby initiating a new cycle of defenses and counter-defenses. We must also carefully consider the moral issues that arise from the use of directed energy weapons in populated areas.
Conclusion
The UK Ministry of Defence praises RapidDestroyer’s accuracy, but it could still affect civilian electronics nearby. This risk matters most in conflicts where military and civilian zones overlap. RapidDestroyer’s arrival marks a turning point in modern air defense.
It shows the urgent need to adapt to evolving drone threats. Directed energy weapons address a key vulnerability exposed in recent wars. Their low cost and ability to stop drone swarms hint at warfare’s future.
These systems could soon become must-have tools on the battlefield. However, the technology’s limits remind us it’s not a perfect solution. Global competition to build similar systems adds pressure to stay ahead.
Militaries must weigh performance against the risk of unintended side effects. Could weapons such as RapidDestroyer significantly alter combat, or will they merely influence the arms race?
The answer depends on how quickly enemies adapt their tactics. It also hinges on whether global rules can govern such powerful technology.
References
- UK Ministry of Defence – Directed Energy Weapons Programme
- Thales Group – RapidDestroyer Overview
- QinetiQ – High-Power Microwave Defence Systems
- Epirus – Leonidas High-Power Microwave System
- US Air Force – THOR Microwave Weapon
- NORINCO China – Hurricane-3000 at Zhuhai Airshow
- MBDA Microwave Demonstrator Trials—UK/US Collaboration
- Defense News Today – Directed Energy Weapons Category
- Facebook – Pakistan Defense Forum Group
