MOSCOW, December 17. /TASS/. Ukraine is unlikely to have the technology to create a laser weapon capable of striking targets at an altitude of over two kilometers, as Commander of Ukraine’s unmanned systems forces Vadim Sukharevsky claimed earlier, Ukrainian expert on defense technologies Sergey Zgurets said.
"Had we really been able to keep the development of such a weapon system under wraps, that would have been a tremendous breakthrough. <...> Right now, I am surprised by yesterday’s claim. I hope it is based on something," Zgurets said, noting that everything will become clear if the new weapon proves itself on the battlefield.
The expert explained that, according to his information, work in this field in Ukraine has remained at the level of scientific research. According to him, world leaders in armaments, such as the US, the UK, and Germany, have been working on developing such systems for years. Zgurets also pointed out that such a major success, had it been real, should have been publicly announced by Vladimir Zelensky.
On December 16, Sukharevsky asserted that Ukraine purportedly became the fifth country in the world to possess laser weapons. According to him, the system is dubbed Tryzub (Trident) and can take down targets at an altitude of more than two kilometers. He did not elaborate on any of its other properties.