A new type of aviation-laser complex may appear in Russia

Not so long ago, about a year ago, on Habré there was news about the tests in the US of a Boeing with a laser installation on board. The Americans created a really powerful laser machine that knocks down enemy missiles right in the air. Honestly, I did not think that something like that would soon appear in Russia. However, it appeared ... The fact is that the Russian military created a combat laser mounted on an airplane, which, however, does not knock down missiles, but “counteracts the enemy’s optical-electronic means in the infrared range”.

Military experts really created a laser installation, which is mounted on an A-60 type aircraft. Interestingly, research in this area began in the USSR back in the 60s, and in the second half of the 20th century, the prototype of the “flying laser” was ready. After the collapse of the USSR, of course, the financing of the project was over, and the project was frozen. Scientists did some work, but on their own initiative.
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Now the system is mounted, and even has passed several tests, according to the authors of the development, quite successful tests. If everything goes well further, the installation will be handed over to the Russian military, the laser will not be exported abroad (although the military themselves may then sell it in a week, so no one will know - more than once it happened) . The air laser facility was publicly announced back in August 2009 (just when the Americans were testing their own combat laser),

This is what Interfax tells us, citing the words of an anonymous source from the Russian military-industrial complex: “The aviation-laser complex is intended to transmit laser energy to remote objects in order to counter enemy optical-electronic assets in the infrared range”.

Of course, the idea is just great, as long as it does not end with words.

The only pity is that the range of the laser is unknown - the same combat laser from the United States is capable of hitting targets at a distance of 400-600 km. Although, the same source told Interfax that "The laser is capable of paralyzing the work of enemy reconnaissance objects located in space, in the air and on the ground." In principle, if we are talking about space, the range of the device may well be the same, or even greater than that of the American "combat beam."

It would be interesting to see the recording of the work of the Russian installation, because the Americans demonstrated their installation ...