Russia says it has deployed state-of-the-art laser weapons to counter drones supplied by Western powers in its ongoing "special military operation" in Ukraine, Reuters reported.
Laser weapons are the next generation of weapons technology that militaries are developing to counter the growing threat from drones.
Drones are extremely troublesome on the battlefield and are inexpensive, especially when made using off-the-shelf components.
Reorienting conventional weapons toward drones would require a major effort.
Therefore, weapons using laser technology are being developed because they can be easily deployed, and the cost of launching them is negligible.
Reply to drones
Earlier this March, we reported on Al Jazeera how Ukraine is using small, redeployable drones to strike targets up to 48 kilometers away to break supply lines.
In addition, we have reported that the US is also supplying the Ukrainian army with 100 Switchblade drones. These drones can be launched like mortars, then directed by the controller to crash and explode at specific targets.
The drones deployed in Ukraine appear to have been a major nuisance to the Russian advance, as Russia announced that it had deployed a new weapon in the third month of the conflict.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov told a local TV channel that the laser weapon was called "Zadira".
Reuters said in its report that while details of the weapon are not known, news of its release comes nearly 4 years after Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled a laser weapon that uses modern technology.
In 2018, Putin mentioned a system called Peresvet that aims to mislead hostile satellites hovering more than 1,500 kilometers from the weapon system.
The Peresevt is a Russian air defense laser and anti-satellite weapon.
It is one of the six new Russian strategic weapons that Putin revealed on March 1, 2018.
Borisov said the Peresevt missile had already been widely deployed, adding to local media that the Zadera was a more powerful version of the laser weapons system that could incinerate drones and their equipment.
Borisov cited a test he attended that included burning a drone 5 kilometers away in just 5 seconds.
And the Russian news agency (TASS) reported that these weapons began to reach the Russian forces for use in the conflict in Ukraine.
Ukraine mocks the weapons system
In response to the Russian claim, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that this new Russian weapon reminds us of the "wonder weapon" of the Nazis during World War II.
Zelensky referred to the "Wunderwaffe", a list of weapons of strange designs for the German army, which - as the war progressed - became clear that these "strange weapons" were nothing more than propaganda from the Nazi German Ministry of Information that tried to sow fear in the Allied forces .
In a video address, Zelensky said that Russia's attempt to use a miraculous weapon in the third month of the war shows that their mission was a complete failure, Reuters reported.