West Lothian has been chosen for a new hi-tech base that will develop lasers designed to shoot down drones.
Raytheon Technologies will open the facility in Livingston to meet demand for counter-drone technology, focusing on the testing and maintenance of defensive high-energy laser weapons.
The new regional hub will also create dozens of jobs.
It comes after the Ministry of Defence announced that a £160 million contract had been awarded to Raytheon UK to support the training and development of Royal Navy personnel at Scotland’s HM Naval Base Clyde.
Britain’s armed forces began trials last year using laser weapons.
Initially the number of jobs created by the new centre is likely to be small, but could increase to potentially “hundreds of jobs”.
“We’ve all seen that asymmetric threats like drones, rockets, artillery and mortars are a serious problem, and demand is spiking for cost-effective lasers to defeat them,” said Michael Hofle, senior director of High Energy Lasers at Raytheon Intelligence and Space, a Raytheon Technologies business.
“Standing up an advanced integration facility in the UK reflects the maturity of our technology and our commitment to deliver the HEL systems our customers need to defend the skies.
John Gallagher, managing director of weapons and sensors at Raytheon UK, added: “With experts projecting that high-energy lasers could make up as much as 30 per cent of an air defence’s infrastructure in the future, establishing a regional laser integration centre in the UK is an important step to deliver advanced defensive technology where it’s needed, while reducing overall costs of these systems,” said
Last year, Raytheon UK was awarded a demonstrator contract to provide a high-energy laser weapon system to the UK Ministry of Defence, to be installed on the UK Wolfhound land vehicle.
The demonstrator and the advanced laser integration centre reflect a continued commitment to working with the MoD on directed energy to help fulfill a key strategic objective of the UK’s Integrated Review.
“This centre will help position the UK as a leading nation in directed energy and ensure that the technology continues to be brought out of the lab and into the operational field,” Gallagher added.
Raytheon UK is part of Raytheon Technologies, which supports 1,900 jobs across Scotland and provides a £187 million contribution to the Scottish economy.
With facilities across the United Kingdom including Broughton, Livingston, Glenrothes, Harlow, Gloucester and Manchester, Raytheon UK is invested in the British workforce and the development of UK technology.
As a prime contractor and major supplier to UK Government, the company employs 2000 highly skilled people supporting the aerospace, defence, space sectors. Raytheon UK continues to invest in research and development, supporting innovation and technological advances across the country in the areas of complex weapons, training transformation, digital and space.
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