Secrets of "Peresvet". Lasers to protect the Russian sky

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

This happened for the first time in the world. Real, full-fledged combat lasers took over in Russia on real, full-fledged combat duty. This was reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Lasers deployed at locations

Of course, in the messages of the military, no secret tactical and technical data of the Peresvet complexes are disclosed. Therefore, from all the words, only extremely scanty data can be extracted.

The first is what has already been reported. Equipping the troops with "Peresvetami" was started back in 2017. Moreover, this was presented in the context of the fact that, they say, "self-propelled laser systems took over on experimental combat duty in the Russian Armed Forces." And also that "with the arrival of laser systems in the troops, their development by personnel and the coordination of combat crews was organized."

From this, it was possible to conclude with confidence that this means passing the final military tests by the complexes. We can say, already operational, during which military "users" are already testing the real applicability, reliability, operational usefulness of the new weapon. His obligatory "childhood illnesses" are revealed, and most importantly - the correlation, proportionality, so to speak, of the design "bookmarks" of real military practice. Well, let's say, as if the designer created an automatic machine that was perfect in all respects, which knocks out the enemy for half a hundred kilometers, and the accuracy gives a pinpoint, and you don't even need to clean it after use. And there is only one drawback - some necessary detail is so located that, during the march, it turns the soldier's back into one big bruise. Will the troops need such a machine gun?

The second is that the complexes are now on alert. That is, the tests passed, were recognized as successful, and the deficiencies noticed were eliminated.

Third, the "Peresvets" are deployed in their places of deployment, where "the necessary infrastructure has been prepared for carrying out combat duty, including premises for equipment and duty shifts." At the same time, "combat crews worked out actions to deploy equipment and prepare it for use."

From this we can conclude that the complexes are delivered in certain directions where their use is possible. However, the application itself will (or may) occur in mobile conditions, after redeployment to a specific combat area, or even on the march.

This, of course, correlates with reports that combat lasers are being placed in vans manufactured in Naberezhnye Chelny. And in the message of President Vladimir Putin of March 1, where he first showed video footage of "Peresvet", cars appeared. So the fact that the complex is mobile is not an opening, but now we know that it moves on KAMAZ chassis.

What is the purpose of "Peresvetov"

This can be judged by one piece of information and one small informational incident.

Regarding the first point, there was a message that "the personnel underwent the necessary retraining on the basis of the Mozhaisky Military Space Academy." There, "the operators of the new weapons received theoretical knowledge in specially equipped classrooms, and then practiced practical actions on military equipment."

It is known what the Mozhaisky Academy is: a leading educational, scientific and methodological center in the field of military space activities, which trains specialists for the Aerospace Forces in 39 specialties for the country's aerospace defense. This means that lasers are inscribed in this system, and not, say, armored or naval.

With the second point, the situation is that the Defense Ministry itself reported that the Peresvet laser complex “is capable of effectively countering any air attack and even fighting satellites in orbit,” but literally 40 minutes later deleted these words. But screenshots remained on the Internet - nowadays the Internet is such that the word in it is no longer a sparrow, but a natural official stamp.

It follows that the Peresvetov lasers should complement and insure anti-aircraft missile systems, helping them - due to their faster and more efficient controllability - to fight a massive missile strike. How exactly - the options, according to military experts, are not too many, but also quite a few: to influence the accuracy of the homing head, to burn out the control electronics in general, to damage the missile itself, to melt something important to it. In combination with the anti-missile strike capabilities of modern air defense systems, as well as with the capabilities of electronic warfare systems, lasers are thus a useful element of the triad for the full and complex reflection of a missile attack.

Judging by the reservation with the satellites and the words about deployment "where necessary, deployment", we can also talk about pairing Peresvetov with the A-135 Nudol multi-channel layered anti-missile and anti-space defense system with its long-range intercept missiles, as once capable of working against targets in low orbits. Or on the tracks of ballistic flight.

Rather, this is the most likely option. Still, for the weapons of the battlefield, the "Peresvet" complex with its at least five tractor-vans is too cumbersome. But to shoot down a rocket or satellite and quickly redeploy is the very thing.

Device?

Regarding the device, you can only repeat what has already been said: any technical and even more combat characteristics of the laser complex are not disclosed at the moment.

But it was announced that the creation of "Peresvet" was carried out by the specialists of the nuclear center in Sarov. The Russian Federal Nuclear Center - the All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics (RFNC-VNIIEF) does indeed have an institute for laser physics research. By the way, the center is part of the Rosatom state corporation, the former head of which, Sergei Kiriyenko, is rumored to have been awarded the title of Hero of Russia. And he led the corporation exactly at the time when Peresvet was supposed to be developed …

The Sarov Center is also known for the fact that it is developing a thermonuclear reactor of a nature different from the usual tokamak. That is, if in tokamaks plasma is obtained due to a thermonuclear reaction inside the "chamber" from strong magnetic fields, then in Sarov, as the press reported, they followed the path of obtaining plasma at the junction point of high-energy laser beams. This means that we can assume that this kind of "ideology" is used in "Peresvet". After all, traditionally the main enemy of a laser beam is opacity in its path.

For example, fog, smoke, any dispersed mixture in the air significantly weaken the beam power. Up to its complete obstruction. However, in science it is known that this beam can be modulated in some magical way so that it overcomes such obstacles and turns into an active plasma at a certain distance in the right place. There have even been reports of surgical procedures using a similar principle. If so, the center in Sarov is the very place where this principle could be brought to a combat effective state.

Finally, food. To achieve the required power output, the Americans developed a system for nuclear pumping of a laser facility. Some successes were even shown, but in general, as you know, the SDI system - or, as it was called, "Star Wars" - did not work for the Americans. Not least because of energy issues. Judging, however, by the not very compact, but still mobility of "Peresvet", in Russia these issues were somehow resolved. It is possible that a certain role here could be played by a compact nuclear installation like the one that Vladimir Putin spoke about when he presented a cruise missile with a nuclear power plant. Why not? If it works on one type of weapon, you can put it on another. Or perhaps a compact nuclear battery is being used. But we will not know for sure about this soon.