France’s Directorate General of Armament (DGA) has just placed an order for a high-power laser demonstrator focused on anti-drone warfare.
The order was placed on August 22 with a consortium composed of MBDA, Safran Electronics and Defence, Thales, and CILAS, for the development of a demonstrator for a laser weapon system.
The system, called SYDERAL (Système Laser de Défense de Nouvelle Génération), is intended for anti-drone warfare and short-range air defense, as part of France’s 2024–2030 military planning law.
The SYDERAL demonstrator will allow assessment of the laser weapon’s effectiveness in neutralizing tactical drones, rockets, mortars, and remotely operated munitions, with the goal of equipping the armed forces by 2030.
It will be built on a scalable and modular architecture, usable day and night. The SYDERAL has been designed to be relatively compact relative to its power.
Under the contract, the consortium will provide high-level expertise in the complex technologies required to build the demonstrator.
In particular, in the areas of laser beam combination, high-precision automatic video tracking, and adaptive optics, offering greater efficiency compared to other systems developed worldwide.
The development of this solution was the subject of an initial notification in 2024 to the consortium formed by Lumibird and CILAS, valued at €10 million.
The goal was to develop a range of laser sources with characteristics that allow the combination of many of them to achieve very high power levels.
The SYDERAL demonstrator will be a first step toward achieving very high power and being able to handle more complex threats, such as missiles.
Photo and video: MBDA. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
