Germany Pushes Naval Laser Weapons Toward Production as Rheinmetall and MBDA Form Joint Venture.

Rheinmetall and MBDA Deutschland plan to establish a joint venture in early 2026 to industrialize naval high-energy laser weapons, building on a combat-tested demonstrator deployed aboard a German Navy frigate. The move reflects growing urgency among NATO navies to counter low-cost drones and close-in threats without relying solely on expensive missile interceptors.

German defense firms Rheinmetall and MBDA Deutschland announced plans on January 5, 2026, to form a dedicated joint venture aimed at bringing naval laser weapons into serial production. According to Rheinmetall, the venture will industrialize a high-energy laser demonstrator already tested at sea by the German Navy, creating a pathway from prototype to operational capability for domestic use and potential export customers.
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Rheinmetall and MBDA will form a joint venture to field naval laser weapons, building on a 20 kW demonstrator tested aboard frigate Sachsen to counter drones and close-in aerial threats (Picture source: Rheinmetall). 

At the center of the program is a containerized laser weapon demonstrator that has already been integrated on the F124 frigate Sachsen. The prototype architecture is telling: most subsystems sit inside a standard 20-foot container, while the sensor and beam-director assembly is mounted on top, a layout that accelerates ship trials and simplifies future integration studies. Publicly available technical reporting ties the demonstrator to a 20 kW-class effector built from multiple fiber-laser modules, paired with a precision pointing and beam-guidance chain designed to keep energy concentrated on a chosen aimpoint rather than merely “painting” a target.

The weapon is positioned as the close-in layer that navies have been missing in the drone era: extremely fast reaction, deep magazine limited primarily by electrical power and thermal management, and a per-engagement cost that does not resemble missile economics. Rheinmetall says the planned operational system will complement guns and guided missiles, with particular effectiveness against drones and other highly agile targets at short and very short ranges. During trials, the system demonstrated stable tracking on a target comparable in size to a one-euro coin at long distances and conducted “blue sky” engagements without relying on terrain as a backstop, a practical safety milestone for any shipboard laser operating around civilian shipping lanes and coastal infrastructure.

The development timeline is unusually well documented for a directed-energy program. Rheinmetall and MBDA began cooperating in 2019, then received a Bundeswehr procurement contract to fabricate and integrate a maritime demonstrator, with sea trials planned aboard Sachsen. Integration work accelerated in 2021, including factory acceptance testing, followed by ship installation and Baltic Sea campaigns in 2022 that culminated in live engagements against drones near the Putlos training area. A longer series of trials ran through 2023, and Rheinmetall now states the demonstrator has completed a one-year sea trial with more than 100 firing and tracking tests under operational conditions.

On frigates and corvettes, a laser layer can thin out reconnaissance UAVs, one-way attack drones, and fast-emerging close-in threats before they force commanders into spending scarce missiles. It is also a natural tool for rules-of-engagement constrained operations such as escort missions, maritime security patrols, and port approaches, where commanders want a precise, scalable effect with reduced fragmentation risk compared to gun-based CIWS. Rheinmetall also notes the demonstrator has been transferred to the Laser Competence Centre at WTD 91 in Meppen for further testing and for land-based counter-drone evaluation, hinting at future point-defense packages for bases, depots, and critical infrastructure.

Comparable solutions exist, and the Rheinmetall-MBDA approach lands in a competitive middle ground. The UK’s DragonFire is scheduled for installation on a Royal Navy warship in 2027, emphasizing similarly low-cost engagements against aerial threats. The US Navy’s HELIOS has been tested at sea as an integrated destroyer capability aimed at drones and small craft. Israel’s Rafael markets Iron Beam as a 100 kW-class system for rockets, mortars, and UAVs, illustrating where higher-power growth curves are headed. In contrast, Rheinmetall’s publicly described demonstrator sits at 20 kW today, but the joint venture is designed to accelerate the climb from proven tracking and engagement mechanics to militarized, higher-output systems suitable for harsher target sets.

Low-cost drones have become the pacing threat for both naval task groups and coastal defense, and Europe is trying to close a capability gap without betting the ship on a single magazine type. A laser that can reliably handle the “cheap and many” layer frees missiles for the “few and lethal” layer, and it does so while reinforcing industrial sovereignty and crisis supply resilience, two motivations both companies openly underline as they move from demonstrator science to a product line.

Written by Evan Lerouvillois, Defense Analyst.

Evan studied International Relations, and quickly specialized in defense and security. He is particularly interested in the influence of the defense sector on global geopolitics, and analyzes how technological innovations in defense, arms export contracts, and military strategies influence the international geopolitical scene.