Chinese Laser Weapon Is Claimed to Be in Russian Service
2nd June 2025
Russia is using a new Chinese laser system to shoot down Ukrainian drones, according to pro-Russian Telegram channels. The system seen in a video posted to Telegram on Thursday appears to be at least extremely similar to a system Beijing has apparently already provided to Iran, which you can read more about here.
The video, posted on the Military Information Telegram channel, opens with scenes of troops inside a vehicle, flicking switches and looking at heavily pixelated screens. The next scene shows the system rising out of the vehicle and then being rotated by a soldier in the vehicle using a joystick. It then cuts to small fiery holes being burned into a metal plate. A subsequent view shows the plate with four holes burned through it, apparently created by the laser.