• Laser beam "costs less than a cup of tea", UK defence ministry says.
• British soldiers to start trialling futuristic weapon later this year.
• "Groundbreaking" weapon is developed by US defence company.
  

The United Kingdom's defence secretary announced that the British army recently tested a laser beam for the first time which can destroy targets at the speed of light from more than a kilometre away.

According to a Sky News report, citing a statement by the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD), a single blast from the vehicle-mounted laser weapon "costs less than a cup of tea".

They added that if this revolutionary weapon is approved to be used by the British army, it would become a "far more affordable way of defeating threats than missiles and bullets".

The MoD also described the laser weapon as "groundbreaking".

Trials on the laser weapon, which was developed by the American defence company Raytheon, were carried out at a Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) range in Porton Down, Wiltshire.

Soldiers will start trialling the futuristic weapon, which can be mounted on various armoured vehicles, later in the year, Sky News reported.

Details about the laser trial emerged at the same time as Defence Secretary John Healey announced a £6.5 billion partnership to buy a range of new, increasingly sophisticated missiles over the next decade from the British-French defence company MBDA.

It is the type of weapon that Britain has given in large numbers to Ukraine for the war against Russia and a deal had been worked on during the previous Tory government.

Healey, speaking at a major airshow in Farnborough, said it was important to take politics out of national security.

"So where there is important work begun under the previous government, we will take it forward," he said.

"That is why we are renewing important partnerships with industry and continuing to push technological boundaries. This will drive prosperity and create skilled jobs across the country."