The hottest new defence against drone attacks might be here: Lasers

Drone swarms that have deluged Ukraine for years — and crossed the border into Poland last week — have sent North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) militaries in Europe rushing to upgrade air defences in case they ever face a similar threat.

- LARA JAKES

Soon they will have a new solution: lasers.

Scientists have for decades sought to harness directed energy beams into weapon systems that would be cheaper and more efficient than missiles or rockets. A growing number of countries are developing or deploying their own laser air defenses, and some have already been used in war, by Israel and Ukraine.

A Nato nation in Europe is now buying an air defence laser from an Australian firm, which officials, experts and industry executives said appears to be the highest-power direct energy system to be sold on the global weapons market. That is a sign that they are becoming more widely available and could be a mainstay for future warfare.

The Australian laser’s maker, Elec-tro Optic Systems, advertises it as able to shoot down 20 drones a minute, at a cost of less than 10 cents per shot. Nicknamed “Apollo” for the Greek god of light, it has about the same level of power as Israel’s highly anticipated Iron Beam air defence laser, which is being built for its own military.