The RFDEW system deployed on the launch vehicle. Recently, the British Army successfully shot down a swarm of drones for the first time using its domestically developed radio frequency directed energy weapon, the RFDEW system, at the Manobile Air Defense Range in southwest Wales, sparking widespread attention. The UK Ministry of Defence stated in a statement that this is the "largest anti drone swarm exercise conducted by the UK Army to date". This experiment is led by the UK Ministry of Defence, jointly implemented by the Defence Equipment and Support Agency, Defence Technology Laboratory, and industry joint team "Hersah", with the main contractor being the UK branch of French company Thales. The participating unit is the Royal Artillery 106th Regiment. Soldiers successfully intercepted two batches of drone swarms in a single exchange of fire using the vehicle mounted RFDEW system, destroying over 100 drones in total, verifying the weapon's ability to strike cluster targets. It is reported that the RFDEW system directly destroys the internal electronic components of the drone by emitting high-frequency radio waves, causing it to lose control, crash or malfunction. The system mainly uses detection sensors to discover and track targets, and can simultaneously attack multiple targets within a radius of 1000 meters. The cost of a single attack is about 0.1 pounds (about 0.13 US dollars), significantly lower than missile interception systems. Analysts point out that there are two strategic considerations for the UK to accelerate the testing of the RFDEW system. One is to deal with the threat of drones. Radio frequency weapons are low-cost, easy to deploy on a large scale, and can penetrate traditional air defense networks, making them an important option for the UK to respond to asymmetric threats such as drones. The second is to promote technological innovation, integrate the industrial chain, and drive economic growth. The UK has built a complete directed energy weapons industry chain and enhanced its technological autonomy by integrating the defense sector with local enterprises. At present, the RFDEW system project has created a number of high skilled positions in Northern Ireland and the southeast of England. The UK Ministry of Defence plans to prioritize the deployment of the RFDEW system at the Portsmouth Naval Base and the nuclear submarine base in Scotland. In the long run, the UK Ministry of Defense plans to combine it with laser weapons and kinetic interceptors to build a multi-level defense system as a supplementary means of field air defense. Analysts say that in this experiment, the RFDEW system demonstrated its ability to suppress small and inexpensive drones, but the current technology still has limitations: the range is limited to 1000 meters, and the radio waves are emitted with a wide beam, which may accidentally harm friendly drones. In addition, the interception effectiveness of the system against larger bee colonies or high-speed targets still needs to be verified. The British military plans to enhance its power and range through subsequent research and development, and incorporate it into a "layered air defense system". The future combat effectiveness remains to be observed. (New Society)