The United States has been developing various laser systems for several years, mainly designed to destroy small homemade drones. This was stated on Wednesday, December 15, by the military observer of Izvestia Alexey Ramm, commenting on the tests of the US Navy anti-submarine laser weapons.
According to him, such weapons either blind the optical system of drones, or damage the electronic system due to heating.
"Last year, American developers managed to disable a small unmanned aerial vehicle. But now American systems are seriously losing out to Russian developments, in particular the Peresvet combat laser," the observer said.
According to Ramm, such lasers are unlikely to be useful in the fight against a serious enemy, such as the Russian Orion or Hunter drones.
AP news agency reported about the tests of the laser system from the Portland ship earlier that day. Portland struck a laser at a target in the Gulf of Aden. During the tests, a floating target was destroyed, the US Fifth Fleet noted. It is noted that the system can be used to destroy mined drone boats of Yemeni Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
On December 2, details of the creation of the Russian combat laser "Peresvet" appeared. In 2020, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the installation was developed by Russian nuclear scientists from Sarov.
According to experts, "Peresvet" should hit spacecraft in near-Earth space in orbits up to 500 km high. It is there that almost all reconnaissance satellites and dynamic Earth sensing devices turn.
