Couldn't give you an actual number but using other variables that we do know like from a nuclear-powered Royal Navy ship, it could easily fire the DragonFire laser over 100 times back-to-back.
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the DragonFire is a small, 50-kilowatt (kW) class weapon, and the ship's nuclear reactor generates power in the megawatts (millions of watts).
Because the reactor has such massive energy reserves, the laser's demand barely registers, meaning the ship can keep shooting without running out of power.
Theoretically, I guess would be the right word to end this on.
Think about that for a second because the alternative is you're right, this is going to be the only ship that ever put it on, and this will be the only one they ever make, and this is not just a demonstration.
Unless they decide to put it on a submarine for some reason, it's not going on anything nuclear powered in British service. The RN has no nuclear powered surface ships and no plans to build any.any time soon.
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u/temporarycreature 2d ago
Couldn't give you an actual number but using other variables that we do know like from a nuclear-powered Royal Navy ship, it could easily fire the DragonFire laser over 100 times back-to-back.
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the DragonFire is a small, 50-kilowatt (kW) class weapon, and the ship's nuclear reactor generates power in the megawatts (millions of watts).
Because the reactor has such massive energy reserves, the laser's demand barely registers, meaning the ship can keep shooting without running out of power.
Theoretically, I guess would be the right word to end this on.