If you think the use of laser weapons is still only visible in science fiction, then it's a big mistake。
As early as 19 may 2022, then deputy general borisov of russia publicly declared:
“the russian army, in its special operation on the u. U., has used a new generation of `tragger' military laser systems.”
In addition to russia, china and the united states are actually developing their own laser weapons, the main united states laser weapon being de m-shorad, with a range of 5,000 metres, and how far is china's lw-60 range
Us laser weapon de m-shorad
United states laser weapons development
In september 2023, the top war website published a post about the situation in the country
“the first four prototypes of the latest short-range air defence system de m-shorad with combat lasers have been transferred to the united states army.”
De m-shorad was developed on the basis of an armoured personnel carrier with a 50 kw laser that could cause considerable harm to targets within a 5,000 m range。
It was first equipped by the air defence unit of the 60th battalion of the fourth infantry division of the united states army, syrburg, which will be testing the system comprehensively in the coming days。
United states laser weapon de m-shorad
With regard to de m-shorad, the united states side can be said to be quite confident, as colonel gutiÉrrez, then head of the united states army rapid capacity and critical technical office, stated:
“the transfer of the de m-shorad prototype to 4-60 adar was an important milestone in the modernization campaign of the united states army, an achievement that has increased what is usually considered to be the next generation.”
In the united states plan, in addition to being used against drones, de m-shorad will also try to counter helicopters, military aircraft, which will intercept, in future war, munitions fired from helicopter guns, surface missiles fired from military aircraft and other weapons to protect troops and vital installations。
♪ laser weapons into future war scenarios ♪
In less than a year, however, american media have revealed that the development of united states military laser weapons has stalled。
Still focused on de m-shorad, and according to the defence express, four de m-shorads received by the united states army were “unsatisfactory” in field tests。
At a hearing held on 15 may 2024, the senate appropriations committee, doug bush, then assistant secretary for procurement, logistics and technology of the united states army, stated:
“we find that the challenges faced by de m-shorad at different levels of power are different and that it is a challenge to install weapons at this level of power to vehicles requiring constant movement, including heat dispersion, the quantity of electronic equipment and the different degree of wear and tear that vehicles experience in a tactical environment and their deployment to fixed locations.”
Us laser weapon de m-shorad
It has been claimed before within the united states government that de m-shorad will change the military landscape, but its actual performance clearly negates this, at least until the technical challenges of de m-shorad are fully addressed。
China laser weapons development
Like the united states, china has been actively developing, over the years, new conceptual weapons, including laser weapons, with a significant impact on future wars。
As early as 2021, china displayed two laser weapons at the pearl sea exhibition。
China's ow5 laser weapon system at the pearl sea exposition
Here, we would like to introduce the lw-30 silent hunters laser defence system from the chinese space engineering group。
According to the text, lw-30, with an output power of 30 kilowatts, will be used mainly in field and ground defence, which can cause “harder casualties” to typical targets such as drones, in addition to having “harder and harder detection and guidance equipment for light power”。
Looking at it, lw-30 was installed on a six-wheeler high-speed truck chassis with command and control systems and power systems。
China's lw-30 silent hunting laser defense system
In the event of a war, lw-30 can operate on a bicycle or on a multi-car network。
In terms of its actual performance, lw-30 has the advantage of “high-precision, fast response, low-cost use and high sustainable operational capability”。
However, lw-30 is not the most advanced laser weapon of the chinese space engineering group, which has also developed lw-60 on this basis。
Lw-60 was publicly visible at the pearl sea fair in 2024。
China's lw-60 laser defense system
Compared to lw-30, lw-60 can also achieve foot anti-aircraft defence, which, in addition to continuing the hard-kill capability of lw-30 against typical targets such as drones, can interfere with or cause blind photovoltaic equipment。
Most importantly, the operational radius of lw-60 has been significantly increased。
From the presentation of the data on the live descriptors, it appears that lw-60 has a hard kill distance of not less than 6,000 metres for drones, while interference or blinding distance for photovoltaic equipment is not less than 10,000 metres。
If the range of laser weapons is simply discussed, it is clear that china's laser weapons system has already reached the united states laser weapons system。
"lw-60 laser defense systems developed in china."
In comparison to the stagnation of the united states in related areas, china still displays robust life and human development prospects in related areas。
Reason for the importance of laser weapons
Finally, we may wish to return to the question of why laser weapons have become increasingly important in recent years. The central reason is that it may be an effective way to shoot down drones。
Whether the russian-uu war broke out in 2022, the ongoing confrontation between the al-houthi forces and the united states navy following the israeli-palestinian conflict in 2023, or the indian-palestinian air war on 7 may 2025, the drones were frequently seen。
Uavs were active in the war
Against the background of the fact that drones are being used extensively in combat, it is crucial to develop a lower-cost anti-weapons weapon-free environment。
The most important means of destruction is the “hot-burning effect” of the laser weapon in terms of the principle of the non-existence of the weapon。
In general, the currently widely equipped uav skinned material in various countries has a melting point of around 600°c, but laser beams from laser weapons can reach thousands of°c。
This means that only second-degree exposure time is required so that laser beams can melt the drone mask and then further steer to the drone internal structure and burn the internal circuit boards of the drone control system, thus completely disabling the drone and then crashing。
In the case of suicide drones, laser weapons can be destroyed directly through laser beam-activated explosives。
"lamera beam-activated drone concept."
Even laser weapons with power that is not sufficient to destroy uav skinned material can be used to destroy uav photovoltaic sensors by laser beams。
In general, the destruction of drones by laser weapons is considerable, and the low cost of their use will naturally generate unprecedented attention to laser weapons。
References:
Laser weapons! Russian deputy prime minister: it's operational in the russian-ukrainian conflict. Network
2022. 5. 19.
The first four prototypes of the latest short-range air defence system de m-shorad with combat lasers have been transferred to the u. S. Army
2023. 9. 27.
New china network
2024. 6. 4.
How's china
2021. 10. 5.
Anti-uav technology show, pearl sea show
2024. 11. 15.
Xinhuanet
2025. 2. 7.
