Ukraine claims to have fielded a drone-killing laser weapon
By Linus Höller
Mar 19, 2025, 11:08 AM
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Ukraine claims to be one of the first countries to have successfully developed a laser anti-aircraft weapon, according to a high-ranking military official.
The secretive device has reportedly been employed on the battlefield against low-flying targets, likely unmanned aerial vehicles like the Iranian-made Shahed drones. It was first revealed in an interview with a Ukrainian news outlet by Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi, the commander of the unmanned systems forces within the Ukrainian military.
The device is known as “Tryzub,” or trident in English, referencing the Ukrainian national symbol, which is superimposed in yellow on a blue background in the country’s now world-famous coat of arms.
Information on the new system is scarce and jealously guarded. It was first publicly mentioned by Sukharevskyi in mid-December when he revealed the weapon’s existence and some key parameters at a defense industry conference in Kyiv, as reported by the Ukrainian Interfax news agency. Asked about it again by Radio Free Europe in February of this year, he confirmed that the weapon was operationally deployed.
https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2025/03/19/ukraine-claims-to-have-fielded-a-drone-killing-laser-weapon/
