Yuri Kobzar20:29, 22.07.26

The Armed Forces of Ukraine claim that a laser is more effective than a machine gun.

Ukraine may receive laser weapons to combat air targets in the next 2-3 months . As an UNIAN correspondent reports, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andriy Lebedenko said this during a briefing.

According to him, teams within the Armed Forces of Ukraine and private Ukrainian companies are working on such systems.

“It already knows how to shoot down FPVs, it is already working on “shaheeds” today. And this is the story of the next 2-3 months – we will have the same means that will allow us to hit air attack vehicles even better than machine guns,” Lebedenko said.

The general noted that this is a truly promising direction and “today it is all working out.”

Laser weapon

As UNIAN reported, Ukraine has been developing its own laser weapons system to counter Russian drones for some time. The system, called “Trident,” exists as a prototype and is being tested at testing grounds .

Back in December 2024, the then commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, Vadym Sukharevsky, claimed that Ukraine had its own combat laser and that it “really works .”

Successful tests of combat lasers have been repeatedly announced in several countries in recent years. There have also been reports of the Russians occasionally using Chinese lasers and the deployment of laser air defense in Israel .

However, the practical effectiveness of combat lasers remains debatable. In particular, analysts from the American center RAND Corporation have previously criticized this technology as imperfect and more suitable for demonstrations at training grounds than for real combat use.

(C)UNIAN 2026