Last Monday, February 3, the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed that their troops are already successfully employing their new laser defense system against Russian drones to reduce the number of incursions. This aligns with reports from December regarding the integration of their new “Tryzub” system (translated as Trident). The news was announced by the current commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi, during an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
In Colonel Sukharevskyi’s own words: “The innovative activities of the command include a number of areas. One of them, regarding the fight against enemy aircraft and their unmanned aerial systems, including finding solutions to counter the Shaheeds, led us to equipment that is actively engaged in this. And yes, I repeat: laser technologies are already reaching certain objects at a specific altitude.”
It is worth noting that although the Unmanned Systems Forces have existed for less than a year, they already have both combat and research units that enable the development of new drone technologies and solutions to defend against them. The aforementioned Tryzub laser system is a product of these units’ work, and its deployment and use on the battlefield represent a significant step for Ukraine’s defense network. Specifically, this weapon system has the capability to engage enemy targets at altitudes exceeding 2 kilometers.
Additionally, Colonel Sukharevskyi highlighted in the interview that his unit has also developed new drones that complement Ukraine’s air defense network in countering Moscow’s capabilities. He emphasized, for instance, the role of Nemesis units in conducting strikes against BUK-M3 and Tor missile batteries—one such operation was carried out more than 57 kilometers inside Russian territory. Providing some figures, the head of the Unmanned Systems Forces stated that his troops had conducted more than 220 similar operations throughout 2024, underscoring the growing significance of these weapons.
Lastly, offering a current perspective on the demands placed on Ukraine’s air defense compared to earlier stages of the war, he detailed: “I will give you an example of what used to happen. In Kherson, the recorded number of unmanned aerial vehicles (…) could exceed 40 aircraft in an hour (…) no cannon could move or maneuver under that fire. Those numbers no longer exist. Now we wait for one or two aircraft to appear so we can shoot them down immediately. We can confidently say that the intensity of the enemy’s aerial reconnaissance flights has decreased dozens of times.”
Images used for illustrative purposes.
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