Ukraine reveals laser weapon that destroys drones, missiles and aircraft

Well, it's not exactly sharks with freaking laser beams attached to their heads

but Ukraine is showing the world a new kind of weapon, one that could change how it defends against drones and missiles

Using a joystick, the weapons operator locks onto enemy drones and takes them out with directed energy, in this case, laser power

which means it doesn't fire any bullets. Ukraine unveiled its first homegrown laser system

capable of shooting down drones, aircraft, and even missiles last year. But now the country is publicly showcasing the system

It's called Trezub, Ukrainian for Trident, and it was at a defense industry conference in Europe

Footage released by the commander of Ukraine's unmanned systems forces, Vadim Sukarevsky

showed the laser in action during testing. Operators manually steered the system using a joystick, targeting ground objects and disabling

a drone's onboard camera through directed energy. Zoukorovsky says the laser can destroy drones, guided bombs, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles at distances up to 3 kilometers

The TriZub can also engage helicopters and fixed aircraft at 5 kilometers In a separate mode it can blind optical sensors at up to 10 kilometers

The system is still considered a prototype, but officials say automatic tracking could be added in future versions

While current footage shows it mounted on the ground, Ukraine says it may eventually deploy the laser on drones or mobile platforms

Of course, figuring out a way to power the system on a drone is going to be an obvious challenge, but a tethered drone could be one option

When Ukraine first confirmed laser weapons testing late last year, Sukarevsky said the country was joining a small group of nations capable of using lasers to down aircraft

He also said future air defense teams might replace some conventional weapons with lasers, giving them better tools to intercept drones

While full tactical details remain classified, ysts say directed energy weapons like lasers

could offer a more affordable way to counter drone swarms, one of Ukraine's most frequent threats in its war with Russia

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