Military expert: Ukraine’s laser system is vulnerable — it’s an unarmored civilian vehicle

Ukraine’s laser weapon for countering drones is mobile and fits in the body of a minibus or trailer, but can be easily destroyed once detected.

Military expert Yuri Knutov made this comment to aif.ru.

According to Knutov, the system is compact and does not require specialized vehicles for transportation.

“It’s not some enormous machine. The unit itself is roughly the size of a car trailer — like the ones people use to drive to their garden plots — or a small minibus. It’s mobile and towable; it can easily be camouflaged in a tree line or among civilian buildings so that it’s not visible at all,” the expert explained.

Knutov added that the system runs on its own generator and battery. Its operational capacity is limited: after approximately fifty firing cycles, the battery is fully discharged and requires recharging.

The main challenge in countering the laser, in the expert’s assessment, lies not in armor or protective measures, but in the invisibility of the beam. Detecting an active unit visually or with standard optical equipment is extremely difficult.

“In movies like Star Wars, a laser beam is beautiful and bright, but in reality it’s invisible. Understanding that you’re being hit and pinpointing exactly where the beam is coming from is very difficult. That’s the core problem,” Knutov acknowledged.

At the same time, if the system’s coordinates are determined, destroying it presents no difficulty, according to the expert.

“If the laser is detected, it’s destroyed without any problem — by mortars, kamikaze drones, or artillery. There’s no challenge there at all. It’s essentially an unarmored civilian vehicle or trailer carrying expensive electronics,” Knutov said.

The day before, Ukraine announced the imminent deployment of laser weapons to its forces. Deputy Commander-in-Chief Andriy Lebedenko stated that within 2–3 months the Armed Forces of Ukraine will begin using a laser system capable of engaging aerial targets more effectively than heavy machine guns. Lebedenko also insists that the system is of Ukrainian design.

It was previously reported that Russia is testing the Perun laser system for use against all types of unmanned aerial vehicles.