New 'Game-Changing' Laser Weapon Costing $13 A Shot Could Disrupt Defense Industry — Here Are The Public Companies Behind It

Western missile defense capabilities are powerful but can be expensive to maintain against continued enemy fire.

For example, the Standard Missle-2, which the U.S. Navy uses for air defense, costs over $2 million every time it's fired.

In battlefields like the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, where Houthi rebels have put shipping under a constant aerial barrage, including with drones costing well under $100,000, finding a cheaper defense alternative is economically crucial.

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James Black, an assistant director of defense and security for the RAND Europe think tank, warned of such earlier this year saying, "Low-cost drones and rockets have swung the economic calculus of offense and defense in favor of those using large volumes of cheap unmanned systems and munitions to overwhelm more-sophisticated air and missile defenses."

The United Kingdom shared new footage of its newest laser weapon system, which it calls the DragonFire. The U.K.'s defense minister explained that the video demonstrates "the power of the laser to cut down targets at the speed of light."

Perhaps the biggest breakthrough is its price tag, with the Defense Ministry estimating the price of a 10-second burst of the laser to only cost $13, leading it to call it a "potential game-changer for air defense."

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Companies involved in the collaboration of the new laser weapon include MBDA UK, BAE Systems BAESY, QinteQ Group QNTQF, Arke and Leonardo FINMY.

Leonardo, an Italian multinational specializing in aerospace, defense and security, has seen strong stock price performance lately, with its stock up about 105% in the past year.

While the device is still in the research and development stage, business could continue to boom for these companies if Ukraine can get access to this new technology.

Even though the British currently have no known plans to deploy the technology to Ukraine, some Ukrainians have already expressed interest.

"We are ready to test it," Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko told Newsweek. 

With the ever-high geopolitical tensions around the world and the U.S. government debt approaching $35 trillion, finding more cost-effective ways to succeed in combat would be welcome news.

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