Ukraine's laser weapons can be compared with world analogues — details (VIDEO)

The Ukrainian-developed combat laser weapon “Trident” corresponds in its parameters to American and British analogues. Laser air defense systems, despite the limitations in range and dependence on weather conditions, have significant advantages, such as low operating costs and high efficiency in long-term operations, informs FREEDOM.

In April 2024, the media reported that the UK was planning to transfer to Ukraine a laser weapon of its own production, DragonFire (“Dragon's Flame”). The UK Ministry of Defense reported that the tests were successful. It was stated that such weapons can destroy air targets at a distance of up to a kilometer, since specialists built a laser into an armored personnel carrier. The biggest advantage of lasers is their relatively low cost of use, provided there is a reliable energy source. The cost of one shot is about $10.

“DragonFire has its drawbacks. This is a relatively short-range system, as it requires sighting of the target. Another challenge is overcoming the atmospheric properties that distort the laser beam. The big advantage of such weapons is that they can be fired every day without reloading, DragonFire employee Richard Ray told the BBC.In the spring of 2024, London accelerated the development and testing of this weapon against the backdrop of increased Russian drone attacks on Ukraine. Along with the UK, similar combat lasers were developed in the USA and Germany. Ukraine also already has its own laser weapon — “Trident”.

“We can state that today Ukraine is, if I am not mistaken, the fifth country that can say that it has a laser. Today, we can shoot down planes at an altitude of more than 2 km with this laser. It really works, it really is”, — said the commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Vadym Sukharevsky, in a comment to the agency “Interfax-Ukraine”.

This type of weapon works by focusing a laser beam (which burns the drone body) and the ability to fix it on a moving target. For example, DragonFire can track an enemy object in the sky at a distance of 1 km with an accuracy of up to 23 mm. The peculiarity of the Ukrainian laser “Trident” — it can focus at a distance of 2 km, which suggests that the issue of how and on what it is installed has been resolved. It can hit a target moving at a speed of up to 200 km/h.

“A combat laser with such characteristics — really not an ordinary thing. The declared range and the class of the target for defeat already speak for themselves. In particular, for the American combat laser, the effective range was declared at 1 km 600 m, with a power of up to 50 kW. At the same time, [the German company] Rheinmetall, back in the early 2010s, with a similar power in demonstration firings, worked on UAVs at a range of up to 2 km. The British DragonFire, which was planned to be sent to Ukraine for testing, has a similar power, 55 kW, — writes Defence Express.

As stated by the commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, the development of the laser weapon “Trident” will be scaled up and strengthened. Therefore, for now, we are talking about the characteristics of the prototype.