Russia, Ukraine: Laser destroys Russian bomber drones Real weapons or propaganda

Recently, the Russian authorities said they had used “Laser Weapons” in the War of Invasion of Ukraine But US intelligence agencies Said that he had never found any evidence confirming the use of such weapons once. The Ukrainian leader has already decided that The state-of-the-art magic weapon that Russia claims is just propaganda. does not exist at all

News of a laser weapon used to destroy a drone bomber comes from Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, who oversees the development of the Russian military. which he gave an interview to a state television station that A prototype laser weapon “Zadira” has been deployed in the Ukrainian battlefield. The weapon is capable of incinerating Ukrainian military drones in five seconds, even if the drone is five kilometers away.

“Sadira” is considered the latest Russian laser weapon. After the previous launch of the “Peresvet” (Peresvet) lasers have interfered with the operation of spy satellites. The latter was named after an Orthodox priest who was a medieval warrior.

However, the US Department of Defense statement in response to Russia Not a single trace of laser use was found on the battlefield. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mocked that The Zadira laser weapon is no different from the “magic weapon” that Nazi Germany’s military used to claim during World War II.

“The more clearly Russia knows that it is unlikely to win the war, the more More and more propaganda appeared about powerful magic weapons. This will only help turn the situation around more often,” he said. “When the third month of battle We have seen the Russians trying to find and boast of such a wonderful weapon. This shows that their past mission has completely failed.”

Little is known about the details of the Zadira laser weapons development project. But Reuters reported in 2017 that Russian state-owned nuclear power company Rosatom helped develop the weapon as part of a program to produce new physics-based weapons.

Currently, Israel is the only country that has successfully developed laser weapons. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the “iron beam” was the world’s first direct-fire weapon. It can effectively intercept drones, rockets or mortar shells at a low cost. It costs only $3.5, or about 120 baht, for each beam shot.

Even though the steel beam sounds like a laser weapon straight out of a sci-fi movie, But it is still not a magic weapon that can be used to deal with all kinds of targets anytime, anywhere. on the contrary Israeli steel beams were developed. to help save more on defense costs such as in the case of installing a security system for a small city to prevent occasional attacks with mortars or drones This will be more cost effective than installing a full Iron Dome anti-missile system.

Dr Uzi Rubin, from the Jerusalem Institute for Security and Strategy (JISS), said laser technology would not turn the tide of the battle in the Ukrainian battlefield. as Russia claims “Zelensky was right. Lasers are not magic weapons. But it took several seconds for the drone to be shot down. Today we have better ways to deal with drones. Such as the use of Stinger missiles (Stinger) or other types of anti-aircraft missiles, which destroy targets more quickly. at a greater distance.”

Laser weapons work by firing a beam of infrared or thermal radiation at a target. It heats up quickly and eventually burns violently, but Dr. Rubin says the laser has a very low success rate in destroying a target in war. and even the most advanced laser technology Still too weak to really help anything.

“It’s not like in a Star Wars movie. Just shoot the laser gun out, the bad guy will explode immediately. In fact, it’s like a microwave oven. It takes some time to heat up a cup of water. We have to aim the laser beam at the target and hold it for a long time. until it heats up and burns,” said Dr Rubin.

In addition, laser weapons can only destroy one target at a time. Unlike a missile defense system that can intercept a large number of targets at once. Lasers can also be disturbed by cold weather with rain or snow. and unable to shoot lasers through the clouds

However, there is a possibility that Russian forces may have fired lasers in the eyes of Ukrainian soldiers. to cause vision loss But using lasers on the battlefield like this is forbidden. According to the 1995 United Nations treaty that prohibits the use of weapons that cause excessive trauma. or weapons of mass destruction indiscriminately which Russia has already signed as a party to this treaty.

Michael Newfeld, Senior Curator of the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, USA. commented on the BBC’s history that

“Even the concept of a magic weapon, or Wunderwaffen, was published by the Nazi German Ministry of Propaganda during World War II. Will revisit Russia’s discourse as Ukraine’s invasion does not progress But it’s not a sign of Russia’s failure,” Newfeld said.

“It’s too early to come to such a conclusion. Because at the beginning of the war Russia used to talk about powerful weapons. such as nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles (hypersonic arms) often to intimidate Ukraine and surrender Now, Russia may reintroduce this propaganda tactic. to emphasize that they are still the most powerful side”