Russia promoted its latest generation of laser weapons on Wednesday, including a mobile laser system first proposed by President Vladimir Putin in 2018 and reported to have evolved to the point of blinding orbiting satellites and destroying drones.

Putin showcased a new intercontinental ballistic missile in 2018, as well as a compact nuclear warhead that could be attached to cruise missiles, underwater nuclear drones, a supersonic weapon, and a laser weapon.

Little is known about the Peresvet laser weapon, which was named after a medieval Orthodox warrior-monk named Alexander Peresvet who died in mortal combat. Putin revealed scant details in 2018, and the laser’s specifications are kept under wraps.

Peresvet, according to Yury Borisov, the deputy prime minister in charge of military development, is already widely deployed and can blind satellites up to 1,500 kilometers above Earth.

He mentioned a Tuesday test in which he claimed a drone 5 kilometers away was destroyed in five seconds. The test could not be independently confirmed by Reuters.

“It is already being mass-supplied to the (missile) forces, and it can blind all possible enemy satellite reconnaissance systems in orbits of up to 1,500 km, destroying them during flight owing to the use of laser radiation,” Borisov added.

“But that, let us say, is off today, or even yesterday in some ways: our scientists have now built, and practically mass-produced, laser systems that are more powerful by an order of magnitude and capable of inflicting heat devastation on various apparatus,” Borisov stated.

Borisov’s comments suggest that Russia has made great progress on Peresvet and its yet-to-be-announced successors, a development that other nuclear countries such as the US and China are watching closely.

Also Read

A 76-year old disabled woman was attacked by a rat

A 76-year-old women's husband spoke about the incident, her wife was attacked...