New British military laser could have 'huge ramifications' for Ukraine conflict

A new British military laser could have “huge ramifications” for the conflict in Europe, UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has suggested.

Expected to be ready for posting by 2027 at the latest, the DragonFire weapon could be rushed on to the front line in Ukraine to take down Russian drones, Mr Shapps said.

The laser was originally set to be rolled out in 2032, but new reforms aimed at speeding up procurement mean it will be operational five years earlier, the Ministry of Defence said.

US sends seized Houthi weapons to Ukraine's military

Mr Shapps told journalists, during a visit to the Porton Down military research hub in Salisbury, that he would look to see if the pace could be increased even further “in order for Ukrainians perhaps to get their hands on it”.

“I’ve come down to speed up the production of the DragonFire laser system because I think, given that there’s two big conflicts on, one sea-based, one in Europe, this could have huge ramifications to have a weapon capable particularly of taking down drones,” Mr Shapps said.

“And so what I want to do is speed up what would usually be a very lengthy development procurement process, possibly up to 10 years, based on my conversations this morning, to a much shorter time frame to get it deployed, potentially on ships, incoming drones, and potentially on land.

“Again, incoming drones, but it doesn’t take much imagination see how that could be helpful in Ukraine for example.”

Ukraine-Russia conflict latest – in pictures

Laser-directed energy weapons (LDEWs) use an intense light beam to cut through their target and can strike at the speed of light.

The Ministry of Defence hopes the DragonFire system will offer a low-cost alternative to missiles by carrying out tasks such as shooting down attack drones.

It has been developed by defence firms MBDA, Leonardo and QinetiQ and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL).

The new procurement model, which comes into effect this week, is aimed at speeding up the process of getting cutting-edge developments in military capability like DragonFire out into the field.

Russia-Ukraine war by the numbers – video

“It’s designed to not wait until we have this at 99.9 per cent perfection before it goes into the field, but get it to sort of 70 per cent and then get it out there and then … develop it from there,” Mr Shapps said.

Asked whether the system might be ready earlier than 2027, he said: “Because I’m here, I’ve taken the opportunity to arrange additional conversations with colleagues about whether we could speed it up even faster, very much using the integrated procurement model of saying there’s a war on – let’s say that it didn’t have to be 100 per cent perfect in order for Ukrainians perhaps to get their hands on it, can we do any better – but 2027 is still the date as of this moment. But of course I’ll look to see what we can do to speed up.

“In a more dangerous world, our approach to procurement is shifting with it. We need to be more urgent, more critical and more global,” Mr Shapps said.

Russia’s war recently entered its third year with Kyiv struggling to replenish its depleted ranks and a multibillion-dollar package of US support remaining stalled in Washington amid opposition from hardline Republicans.

Company profile

Name: Steppi

Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic

Launched: February 2020

Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year

Employees: Five

Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai

Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings

Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year

There could be a city on Mars within 100 years

Get ready to lift off with the Summer of Space

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I Care A Lot

Directed by: J Blakeson

Starring: Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage

3/5 stars

Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

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WORLD RECORD FEES FOR GOALKEEPERS

1) Kepa Arrizabalaga, Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea (£72m)

2) Alisson, Roma to Liverpool (£67m)

3) Ederson, Benfica to Manchester City (£35m)

4) Gianluigi Buffon, Parma to Juventus (£33m)

5) Angelo Peruzzi, Inter Milan to Lazio (£15.7m

RESULT

Bayer Leverkusen 2 Bayern Munich 4
Leverkusen: Alario (9'), Wirtz (89')
Bayern: Coman (27'), Goretzka (42'), Gnabry (45'), Lewandowski (66')

What went into the film

25 visual effects (VFX) studios

2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots

1,000 VFX artists

3,000 technicians

10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers

New sound technology, named 4D SRL

Changing visa rules

For decades the UAE has granted two and three year visas to foreign workers, tied to their current employer. Now that's changing.

Last year, the UAE cabinet also approved providing 10-year visas to foreigners with investments in the UAE of at least Dh10 million, if non-real estate assets account for at least 60 per cent of the total. Investors can bring their spouses and children into the country.

It also approved five-year residency to owners of UAE real estate worth at least 5 million dirhams.

The government also said that leading academics, medical doctors, scientists, engineers and star students would be eligible for similar long-term visas, without the need for financial investments in the country.

The first batch - 20 finalists for the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Distinction.- were awarded in January and more are expected to follow.

GOLF’S RAHMBO

- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.	United States
2.	China
3.	UAE
4.	Japan
5	Norway
6.	Canada
7.	Singapore
8.	Australia
9.	Saudi Arabia
10.	South Korea

Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic

Premier League results

Saturday

Crystal Palace 1 Brighton & Hove Albion 2

Cardiff City 2 West Ham United 0

Huddersfield Town 0 Bournemouth 2

Leicester City 3 Fulham 1

Newcastle United 3 Everton 2

Southampton 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1

Manchester City 3 Watford 1

Sunday

Liverpool 4 Burnley 2

Chelsea 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1

Arsenal 2 Manchester United 0

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only. Readers are encouraged to seek independent legal advice.

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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme

Priority access to new homes from participating developers
Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
Flexible payment plans from developers
Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.

- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law