Russia said on Wednesday it was using a new generation of powerful laser weapons in Ukraine to burn drones in an attempt by Moscow to contain Western-supplied weapons to the neighboring country.
President Vladimir Putin in 2018 unveiled a number of new weapons, including a new intercontinental ballistic missile, submarine nuclear drones, a supersonic weapon and a new laser weapon.
Little is known about the specifics of the new laser weapons. Putin mentioned one called Peresvet, named after the medieval Orthodox monk Alexander Peresvet, who died in combat.
Yury Borisov, deputy prime minister in charge of military development, told a conference in Moscow that Peresvet was already being widely deployed and could blind satellites up to 1,500 km above Earth.
He claimed, however, that there are already Russian systems more powerful than Peresvet that can burn drones and other equipment. Borisov cited a test on Tuesday that he said burned a drone five kilometers away in five seconds.
“If Peresvet blinds, then the new generation of laser weapons leads to physical destruction of the target — thermal destruction, they burn,” Borisov told Russian state television.
Asked if these weapons were being used in Ukraine, Borisov stated: “Yes. The first prototypes are already being used there.” He said the weapon is called “Zadira”.
Source: CNN Brasil
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