Russia seems to be using its invasion of Ukraine to try out the latest technology on the battlefield. Russia is reportedly deploying a new generation of laser weapons to destroy the drones.
Not much information is known about the laser weapons Russia uses. In 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin exhibited a laser weapon called the Peresvet.
At a press conference in Moscow, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said Peresvet was already widely used and could blind satellites 1,500 km above Earth.
Borisov said Russia had already deployed laser weapons more sophisticated than the Peresvet which it claimed could burn drones and other equipment. He claims that in trials this laser weapon can burn drones from a distance of 5 km in five seconds.
"If Peresvet blinds, then the new generation of laser weapons leads to the physical destruction of the target - thermal destruction, they catch fire," Borisov said, as quoted by Reuters on Thursday (19/5/2022).
Borisov added that the first prototype of the laser weapon has been deployed in Ukraine. He said the laser gun was named 'Zadira'.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky immediately responded to the news about Russian laser weapons with ridicule. He compared Russian weapons to the magic weapons used by Nazi Germany during World War II.
"The clearer it is that they have no chance of winning in the war, the more propaganda about this extraordinary weapon will be very powerful to ensure a turning point," Zelensky said in his speech.
"And we see in the third month of a full-scale war, Russia is trying to find its 'magic weapon' ... This all clearly shows the complete failure of their mission," he continued.
Using lasers to blind satellites was once a fantasy that only existed in the realm of science fiction. But superpowers like the United States, China, and Russia have been developing advanced laser weapons for years.
Borisov said in the future a new generation of laser weapons using a wide electromagnetic band will replace conventional weapons.
"This is not some kind of exotic idea. This is the reality," said Borisov.