A futuristic laser weapon set to be deployed on British warships has been inspired by Formula 1 racing car technology.

The Dragonfire Laser Directed Energy Weapon is a powerful 50kW device developed by US and British scientists.

The UK Ministry of Defence said it could be deployed to protect its naval and land forces from missile threats, drone attacks and artillery bombardment.

But major engineering hurdles needed to be overcome before the weapon could be fitted to a Royal Navy warship.

An artist impression of how the Dragonfire could defend a warship against enemy attack. (MBDA Missile Systems). (Supplied)

When it’s fired, the Dragonfire draws huge amounts of power. And its lithium batteries are prone to overheating and starting fires on board a ship.

After lengthy research, British and US scientist found a Flywheel Energy Storage System (FESS) – based on Formula 1 technology– will lessen the impact of the weapon.

“This technology was originally developed by the Williams F1 team,” said UK military spokesman Andrew Tate in a statement.

“We saw an attractive option to bolster defence capability through the provision of more robust and futureproof power systems for naval ships.”

The flywheel system used in Formula 1 cars has been adapted for the Dragonfire laser weapon. (AAP)

A flywheel is fitted inside a car’s transmission to store rotational energy when the clutch is disengaged. It stores energy when the clutch is disengaged, and can shift the energy back once its engaged after a gear change.

The concept could be adapted by storing the energy required to fire a laser in a number of flywheels.

It was tested in the US and UK, using a virtual ship power system based on a Royal Navy warship design.