Belarusian Defence Ministry claims country is developing laser weapons

The Belarusian Defence Ministry has claimed that Belarus is developing laser weapons.

Source: Telegram channel of Belarusian Defence Ministry, citing Colonel Viktor Tumar, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus for Scientific Work, at a military-scientific conference in Minsk

Quote: "We strive to have only our own, Belarusian. We are now one of the leaders in electronic warfare, developing radar systems for detecting various objects.

We also have developments in laser weapons. We are moving directly to weapons based on new physical principles."

Background:

• Nations around the world have been racing to develop laser weapons powerful enough to melt steel.
• In August 2023, China announced it had found a way to create a laser weapon that could fire indefinitely. If true, this will give the country a lead in technology development.
• In December, the US Air Force and Navy asked Raytheon defence contractor to design, build and test systems that would "ignite" adversary electronic components using energy explosions.
• In January 2024, the UK government announced the first successful test of laser technology against air targets.
• UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps suggested that samples of the latest laser weapons being developed in the UK could be provided to Ukraine to strengthen its air defence at the prototype stage. However, this will likely happen no sooner than in a few years.

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