Russia introduces new laser weapon capable of ‘burning’ drones

Laser weapon Zadira

On May 18, Yury Borisov, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of military development, announced during a conference in Moscow that the Peresvet laser weapon has been widely deployed in Ukraine and that it can blind satellites at high altitudes. 1,500 km above Earth.

However, he added that Russia has systems that are more powerful than Peresvet and can ignite drones and other devices. Borisov cited a test on May 17, noting that the new weapon ignited a drone 5km away in just 5 seconds.

Borisov told Russian state TV: “If Peresvet blinds the eyes, then the new generation of laser weapons can easily burn the target.”

Asked if such weapons were used in Ukraine, Mr. Borisov said: “Yes! The first prototypes were used there.” He added the weapon was called “Zadira”.

There is almost no public information about Zadira. But in 2017, Russian media reported that Russia’s state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, helped develop the weapon under the framework of Moscow’s ONFP program.

Borisov’s remarks showed that Russia has made significant progress on laser weapons, a trend that is of interest to other nuclear powers such as the United States and China.

Borisov said the new generation of laser weapons will eventually replace conventional weapons. “This is not an impossible idea, it is a reality,” he said.

The United States and its allies have provided Ukraine with billions of dollars in weapons such as drones, Howitzer heavy artillery, Stinger air defense missiles and Javelin anti-tank missiles.