MOSCOW, August 26. In Russia, a laser cannon was successfully tested on ranges, during which it destroyed several drones of various types, an informed source said.
«
«A combat laser designed to destroy unmanned aircraft. The laser gun demonstrated high efficiency in hitting UAVs in the near zone,» the source said.
As the source clarified, during tests, «a combat laser of the infrared spectrum ensured the physical destruction of drones, in particular, burning through the aerodynamic surfaces of vehicles or burning their body along with onboard equipment.»
«Drones of both aircraft and quadrocopter types were destroyed by the laser, he added.
The leading countries of the world are actively working on tactical laser suppression and destruction systems, which should, in particular, strike drones and ammunition in the air in the near zone. Thus, the American company Lockheed Martin has developed for the US ground forces a prototype of the ADAM mobile combat laser system, which should hit air targets at a distance of up to 2 kilometers. A similar system was created by the Boeing concern — the HEL MD laser complex on a truck chassis. In tests, the HEL MD was able to hit 60 mm caliber mines and aircraft-type drones in the air. The concern did not disclose the range of the laser, however, taking into account the maximum range of 60-mm NATO mines, the range of the complex can also be estimated at 1.5-2 kilometers.
Boeing published a video of testing its system — the footage shows that an aircraft drone was destroyed due to laser damage to its tail. As a result, the unmanned aircraft crashed, losing aerodynamic stability.