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MBDA Shows Laser-Missile Air-Defense Hybrid at Berlin Air Show
MBDA presented a turret-mounted high-energy laser paired with a guided missile interceptor at the Berlin Air Show on June 11, 2026. The system targets small, fast, low-cost unmanned aerial threats.
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MBDA displayed a hybrid air defense system combining a laser with an interceptor at the Berlin Air Show on June 11, 2026. The platform pairs the DEWS-L laser weapon with the DEFENDAIR guided missile and offers overlapping engagement envelopes. The laser component is intended to neutralize close-range targets including drone swarms.
The hybrid platform is designed to address the growing challenge of small, fast, and low-cost unmanned aerial threats, according to MBDA. The company said the hybrid platform could enter service with Germany before the end of the decade. Thomas Gottschild, managing director at MBDA Germany, said Berlin has shifted somewhat away from air defense toward prioritizing precision strike capabilities.
Gottschild also said demand has exploded for conventional munitions as conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East test stockpiles. He noted that replenishing this demand will take quite a while and presents both a challenge and an opportunity for industry. MBDA plays a leading role in the UK's DragonFire laser system development.
The DragonFire system is estimated to cost less than £10 ($13) per strike. In 2024, the DragonFire system shot down airborne targets at a test range in northwest Scotland. MBDA's rollout of the DEWS-L and DEFENDAIR system arrives as the company pushes to develop German and European deep precision strike capabilities.
Its expanding product portfolio also includes one-way attack drones, next-generation guided missiles, and hypersonic weapons.
