Ukraine has deployed a new weapon designed to take down both drones, bombers, helicopters and ballistic missiles
By Jim Morrris, Warrior Vice President, News
For about three years, Ukraine has tried everything to take down the swarms of drones launched by Russia – surplus machine guns and autocannons mounted on trucks, interceptor drones of their own and electronic warfare devices that can disrupt their navigation systems.
Now, according to a new report, Ukraine has deployed a new weapon designed to take down both drones, bombers, helicopters and ballistic missiles. It’s a laser system known as Tryzub (the Ukrainian word for Trident) and it’s said to be capable of damaging or destroying targets at a range of up to 5 kilometers (a little more than three miles).
All this according to a story in Euromaidan Press, an English-language independent newspaper based in Ukraine. The report calls it a “potential strategic shift - from intercepting Shahed drones to disabling entire Russian aerial operations.”
The newspaper shows still photos of Tryzub, which appears to be mounted in the back of a truck. The operator uses a joystick to guide the laser to the target. Few details of the weapon have been released; however, in addition to being able to destroy drones and other aerial targets, Tryzub is also reported to be able to “optically blind” the guidance systems of drones and missiles, while also being able to blid pilots in manned aircraft.
Euromaidan Press speculates that integrating “automatic or (artificial intelligence) targeting systems, like Ukrainians have done in other weapons systems, would only further increase its effectiveness, as it already stands to change the field of modern air defenses.”
The US Army has its own laser weapon, known as the Palletized High Energy Laser (P-HEL). Last year, two of the weapons were deployed overseas to an unknown location “to support the Army’s mission,” the service said in a statement to Military.com.
And in 2023, the Pentagon acknowledged that among the weapons being used to defend American troops from rocket and missile attacks in Iraq and Syria were “directed-energy capabilities.”
Meanwhile, Raytheon has conducted a test of its high-energy laser at White Sands Missile Range, demonstrating that it can be paired with the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) to destroy a swarm of drones.
Lasers not only can be effective on the battlefield, they also can be efficient. Military.com notes that Raytheon’s Coyote Block 2C interceptors cost about $100,000 each. A 2023 report from the Government Accountability Office said the average laser weapon costs between $1 and $10 per shot.
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