Hungary shows a domestic laser destroying a drone and says the army could field one within a year

· Drones

TLDR

  • Hungary's defence ministry says a domestic laser destroyed a drone playing an enemy at a 17 October demonstration.1
  • The defence minister said the army should have a laser able to destroy various drone types within a year.12
  • The system's name, developer, power and range have not been disclosed.3

The defence ministry's Honvédelem site reports that a demonstration at the Nullponti training ground opened with the detection and laser destruction of a distant drone playing an enemy aircraft.1 It took place on the second day of the Defence Innovation Review, where Hungarian firms showed drones, ground vehicles and counter-drone systems.1 Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, watching with Chief of the General Staff Zsolt Sándor, said it now appeared the army would have a laser within a year that could destroy different types of drone at a set distance.1

Origo reports that the minister, in a video posted to social media, showed a heavily wrecked drone that had been shot down by what he called the first Hungarian laser weapon development, and said the government would carry on the work with the company involved.2 Militarnyi, which relies on Honvédelem, notes that the system's name, developer, laser power and maximum engagement range have not been disclosed.3

The same Honvédelem report describes a separate counter-drone system with a 10 kilometre radius that it calls NATO-compatible, which jammed or neutralised slow aircraft or those moving at up to 80 km/h during the demonstration.1 It adds that live neutralisation was carried out only once, for safety reasons, using a remote-controlled interceptor drone.1

Why it matters: Hungary is signalling that it wants a home-grown laser against drones within a year, drawing on domestic firms; as the evidence is a ministry account of one demonstration against a role-playing target, with no published range, power or developer, whether it becomes a fielded weapon on that timescale is not yet known.

Sources

  1. Egy éven belül hazai lézerfegyvere lehet a honvédségnek (Honvédelem)
  2. Lézerfegyvert rendszeresíthet egy éven belül a honvédség (Origo)
  3. Hungary Unveils Its Own Laser Weapon to Counter Drones (Militarnyi)