QinetiQ awarded £67M to deliver laser weapons to Royal Navy...

14 Jan 2026

...and nLIGHT reports better-than-expected preliminary Q4 2025 results on back of defense uplift.

Following further successful trials of the UK’s DragonFire laser weapon in November last year, which took place at the QinetiQ-operated Ministry of Defence (MOD) Hebrides range, Defence Minister Luke Pollard announced a £316 M ($425 M) contract, awarded to DragonFire industry partnership prime MBDA, for the production and delivery of the first DragonFire units. These will be integrated on to Royal Navy ships from 2027 as an extension of existing air defense capabilities.

As a DragonFire industry partner, QinetiQ was awarded £67 M ($90 M) by MBDA, enabling QinetiQ to continue its role in developing and producing the vital laser source of the DragonFire system. The contract also leverages QinetiQ’s expertise in ensuring the safe testing of this critical military capability of the future.

Steve Wadey, Group Chief Executive Officer at QinetiQ (pictured, above right), said, “This contract is a testament to QinetiQ’s expertise in developing, testing and engineering novel and disruptive technologies at pace, and is a welcome milestone as industry and government work together to accelerate the adoption of laser directed energy weapons.”

The DragonFire contract supports approximately 120 QinetiQ jobs, predominantly in the west and south of England, and more than 100 UK suppliers, 50 of which are small and medium sized companies.

nLight reports preliminary Q4 2025 financial results

nLight, a provider of high-power lasers for mission critical directed energy, optical sensing, and advanced manufacturing applications, has announced limited preliminary results for the fourth quarter of 2025.

The company said it expects Q4 in the range of $78 M to $80 M, above the high-end of the company’s previously-announced Q4 guidance range of $72 M to $78 M.

Considering sector performance, nLight expects Laser Products revenue of $54 M to $55 M and Advanced Development revenue of $24 M to $25 M. The anticipated increase in revenue over forecast is “primarily due to the continued strength in the company’s revenue from the aerospace and defense market,” nLight stated.

Scott Keeney, nLIGHT’s President and CEO, said, “We ended 2025 on a strong note, particularly with respect to the performance of our Aerospace & Defense market. We enter 2026 with good visibility across multiple programs in both directed energy and laser sensing, and we remain well-positioned for near- and long-term growth in Aerospace & Defense.”

Further details are available on the investor page of nLight’s website.