Cambridge business Marshall Aerospace & Defence Group is part of a defence and technology consortium building a prototype laser weapon for the UK’s MoD.

The MoD is set to ink a £30 million contract for a demonstrator product code-named Dragonfly. The prototype could be delivered as early as 2019.

It is being built by a consortioum led by missile manufacturer MBDA, based in Stevenage, QinetiQ, Leonardo-Finmeccanica, GKN, Arke, BAE Systems and Marshall ADG.

The UK’s first laser weapon could be used on ships against enemy jets and missiles and eventually be deployed by ground troops to take out mortar attacks.

Testing will determine whether Dragonfly can identify and track targets at different ranges and in the most hostile weather.

If Dragonfly lives up to expectations it could replace conventional systems and save the MoD crucial cash at a time when defence budgets are under severe pressure. Requiring only power to fire, Dragonfly does not need expensive ammunition or missiles.

It is one of the systems being developed under the MoD’s £800m Innovation Fund – devised to harness advanced innovation from technology companies and give troops a critical edge in battle scenarios.

Marshall ADG has just been presented with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category by Sir Hugh Duberly, Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire. The award recognises how, during the course of three consecutive financial years, Marshall saw an increase of almost 70 per cent in its international trade.

During this three-year period, more than half of Marshall’s exports were engineering and support services to airframe OEMs, governments, Air Forces and commercial operators.

Steve Fitz-Gerald, CEO of Marshall ADG said: “It is a great honour to have won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise, for which we are most grateful. It is the most respected of all business awards and to be recognised for our role in the export of the UK’s engineering capabilities, in both commercial and military sectors, is an immense boost to the men and women of our company. 

“Marshall has built an enviable reputation the world over, and we are keen to do our part to strengthen the UK’s prosperity agenda.”