U.K. touts successful test of new radio wave weapon to take down "swarms of drones"

London — The U.K. military has conducted a successful field test of a new type of weapon designed specifically to take down multiple drones launched in a coordinated attack, the government said Thursday. In a statement, the government said British soldiers had "successfully tracked, targeted and defeated swarms of drones" for the first time using "a new directed energy weapon developed in the U.K."

The "RapidDestroyer," a Radiofrequency Directed Energy Weapon (RF DEW) was developed by a consortium led by the British arm of French defense giant Thales. The test took place at a military weapons range in Wales, "and was the largest counter-drone swarm exercise the British Army have conducted to date," according to the government.

In a video posted on social media, the Ministry of Defense said RF DEW systems use radio wave energy to "target," "disrupt" or "damage" components of drones directly, rather than just disrupting their communications with ground operators.