New footage shows the dramatic moment one of Ukraine’s new laser-enabled drones destroys a target from over three miles away – and it could help Zelensky’s forces fight off Putin’s invasion
Ukraine shows first combat use of laser enabled military drone
Ukraine has shown off a laser-enabled drone that can ‘irradiate’ a target from over three miles away.
The hi-tech new weapon, revealed in a new video, is able to pick out the enemy from an altitude of 7,900ft – and could help Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s forces fight off Putin’s invasion. A clip shows the drone operator using the laser to pinpoint a house full of Russian troops (circled in red) before a weapon is fired, causing a small explosion.
Odessa-born military observer Yigal Levin, who shared footage of the laser-guided strike, said: “During the operation, information was received about a specific target. Using infrared detection, the location of the enemy was identified – a heated house with personnel. The laser target designator provided precise guidance, thanks to which the target was destroyed, and the defeat was confirmed.”
The laser target means targets can be destroyed with “surgical” accuracy in difficult terrain using ammunition, he added. The ACS-3 drone – also known as raybird-3 – is used for long-endurance reconnaissance and intelligence missions, with the ability to fly for 28 hours.
Last month, Ukraine’s drone forces commander Vadym Sukharevskyi said he now had the capacity to shoot down aircraft at an altitude of over 6,500ft with a new laser weapon. “We can already shoot down aircraft at an altitude of over 2 km with this laser,” he said. The laser was named the Tryzub, the Ukrainian word for “Trident”, he said, and could also blast aerial targets at the speed of light.
It comes after recent footage showed the moment a Russian “military cargo train” blew up in a Ukrainian Intelligence sabotage mission just 60 miles from the Kremlin. Ukrainian military intelligence claimed responsibility for the attack, which saw a mushroom cloud explosion at the Voskresensk rail depot. A video highlighting the blast appeared to have been filmed by the sabotage team.
Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency confirmed the blast destroyed carriages on the freight train, and said the train had been used to shift logistical items for the Russian military. A statement said: “There was an explosion that destroyed the carriages of a freight train at the Voskresensk railway station, Moscow region. The aggressor state used them [the freight wagons] to provide logistics for the Russian occupation army [in Ukraine].”
