British jets to get new anti-drone missile systems

British jets to get new anti-drone missile systems11 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleClaire KeenanReutersBritish fighter jets in the Middle East will be equipped with new missile systems to make it cheaper to intercept Iranian drones.Royal Air Force Typhoon jets will be fitted with an Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) to "destroy targets more precisely and at a fraction of the price of missiles currently in use", the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced.Gulf countries and allies in the region have been grappling with how to counter Iran's Shahed drones, which are relatively cheap to make and have been causing considerable damage.During the 2024 conflict between Israel and Iran, the UK was reported to have shot down some drones with missiles worth around £200,000 each.Defence experts have estimated APKWS rockets used by other countries cost around $30,000 (£22,377) each. The system is already used by the US military. This is closer to the price of the Shahed 136 long-range drone, which is estimated to cost between $20,000 to $50,000.The Shahed, manufactured in Iran, has a slim profile which gives it the ability to fly at low altitude, making it harder to detect by radar and early warning systems that focus on the threat of missiles.Shahed drones have been shot out of the sky by missiles fired from fighter jets or expensive surface-to-air missile systems.A drone hit RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus in March this year causing "minimal damage", authorities said, while two more drones were intercepted days later.The Cypriot government suspected the attack came from the Iran-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon.The APKWS is designed to equip unguided rockets with a laser-targeting system, which turns them into low-cost precision weapons able to take down enemy drones and other threats, the government said.The UK government said it tested the APKWS with defence firms BAE Systems and QinetiQ to "deploy this system in a matter of mon...