Russia could use new-age laser weapons to disrupt Western satellites or Ukrainian drones in the current war, a top Kremlin official has hinted.
Yury Borisov, deputy premier in charge of military development, said new mobile system Peresvet was already deployed with Moscow’s forces.
“It can ‘blind’ all satellite reconnaissance systems of an ‘enemy’ up to an orbit of 1,500km [932 miles], thanks to laser radiation,” he said.
Reports have said Western satellites have been used to hand intelligence to Ukraine on Russian military movements.
Borisov said Russian weapon designers demonstrated a separate new laser system to knock down enemy drones with a burst of intense heat.
“Today our physicists developed, and are almost serially producing, laser systems causing heat damage,” he said.
“This was shown yesterday from a 5km [3 miles] distance…
“A drone was burned in five seconds and simply stopped existing.
“Weapon systems on the way will be based on new physical principles.
“And will define our Armed Forces’ combat readiness in the future.”
Borisov said that “laser weapons, electromagnetic broadband weapons, will replace [conventional weapons] in the coming decades.
“This is no longer exotic but reality already.”
Vladimir Putin had unveiled the Peresvet - after medieval Orthodox warrior monk Alexander Peresvet - in 2018.
It comes after terrifying footage showed the moment a Russian ‘Orlan-10’ drone took to the sky and dropped bombs on a target in the Donbas region.
The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) claims the Orlan-10 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are used to assist civilians allegedly being used as a human shield, as well as carry out reconnaissance operations to find Ukrainian ammo depots and military bases.
The footage shows Russian troops loading one Orlan-10 UAV with missiles before it takes to the sky and bombs targets in a field.
Days ago Ukraine showed off its devastating Brit-made Brimstone missiles in action.
The weapon has been adapted to be fired from small vehicles on the Ukrainian battlefield rather than their usual launchpads - warplanes or as drones of naval ships.
Video footage released by the Ukrainian defence ministry is said to show the Brimstone and also the NLAW new generation portable anti-tank weapon.
A statement from Ukrainian forces said: “From the first days of the open invasion of Russia, the support of our foreign partners has played an important role in countering enemy forces.
“Weapons, material and technical means that give us fellow countries are our strength on the way to victory. We are learning fast and learning new weapons.
“And foreign instructors help us master them without delay. After all, we are fighting not only for the land.
“We fight for our principles, history, senses, for the very existence of the Ukrainian people, their values and freedom.
“And we are grateful that along this way, the titanic support is given to us by the partner states of the free world.
“Together for the Victory.”
The Brimstone came into service in 2005 with an updated version supplied to the RAF six years ago.
It can strike using laser-seeking guidance or autonomous targeting.
In another video, said to have been released by Ukrainian forces, it claims to show the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol hit with incendiary of phosphorus bombs by Putin ’s forces.
