Sukharevskyi noted that Ukraine is searching for effective ways to counter aerial threats, including Russian Shahed drones.
“These research and development efforts are an innovative initiative within our command, covering several directions,” he said. “One of these, in the fight against enemy aircraft and unmanned aerial systems, particularly Shaheds, led us to teams that are actively working on this. And yes, I’ll repeat—laser technologies are already capable of striking certain targets at certain altitudes.”
On Dec. 16, 2024, Sukharevskyi revealed that Ukraine has a laser weapon in its arsenal called Trident and that the country is working to scale up and enhance the system.
“We can now state that Ukraine is, if I’m not mistaken, the fifth country in the world that can say it has a laser weapon,” he said. “As of today, we can already use this laser to shoot down aircraft at altitudes of over 2 kilometers.”
On Dec. 11, the British Army successfully tested a high-energy laser weapon from an armored vehicle, destroying drones in midair.
In April 2024, British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps announced that the UK was considering providing Ukraine with a prototype of its DragonFire laser weapon, specifically for countering drones and missiles.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Illia Yevlash noted that the effectiveness of laser weapons against Russian missiles and drones remains difficult to assess, but stressed that Ukraine needs every possible air defense system.