Ukraine has quietly moved a science fiction idea into the center of its war with Russia, revealing a homegrown laser weapon meant to slice through incoming drone swarms. Officials and engineers describe the Sunray system as compact, cheap and tailored to the country’s most persistent threat: Russian strike drones that hunt power plants and cities at night. The project signals a shift in how Kyiv plans to protect its skies, away from expensive missiles and toward silent beams of light.
Rather than trying to match Russia missile for missile, Ukraine is betting that a mix of lasers, drones and other low-cost tools can blunt incoming attacks without draining its budget. The new weapon is not just a gadget; it is part of a wider attempt to build a sustainable air shield under constant bombardment. Analysts writing about Ukraine’s air defense say Russian strikes have forced the country to improvise cheaper answers, and Sunray is one of the clearest signs that Ukraine wants to rewrite the economics of air defense, not just its technology.
How Sunray’s laser system actually works
Ukrainian engineers have developed and successfully tested a laser-based air defense system called Sunray that is designed to destroy Russian strike drones in flight. Reports on the Sunray trials say the system is compact enough to move easily, which matters when crews need to reposition between attacks or hide from retaliatory fire. The core idea is simple: instead of launching a missile that explodes near a drone, Sunray focuses energy on a small spot until the target’s structure fails and it falls from the sky.
In one public demonstration, the weapon set a drone on fire within seconds, showing that its beam can deliver enough power quickly to matter in combat, according to a report on recent field tests. Another account notes that the weapon operates silently and emits no visible light, meaning a drone pilot or loitering munition would receive no warning before its electronics or airframe begin to fail. In one description of a related system, an observer wrote that “it makes no noise and emits no light, not even that red beam familiar from the movies,” and that the operator aimed the gun in a matter of seconds, a portrayal that matches how Ukraine wants Sunray crews to work under pressure.
Designed for cheap, mobile air defense
Cost is the heart of the project. Russian strikes have forced Ukraine to build high-tech air defense on the cheap, because firing an expensive missile at a cheap drone is a losing equation over time, as described in coverage of Ukraine’s low-cost systems. Sunray flips that math. Ukrainian sources describe it as a low-cost system, priced far below Western laser projects, with each unit intended to be affordable enough to field in numbers rather than as a rare showpiece. One report says the price per unit could be in the “hundreds of thousands” of dollars, not millions, which makes it realistic to spread across many regions.
Physical size matters just as much as price. One report describes a portable laser cannon that fits in a pickup truck, a format that matches the way Ukrainian crews already use mobile air-defense guns along likely approach routes for drones. In the same reporting, officials say the Sunray system is compact enough for flexible deployment, which suggests a mix of truck mounts and small shelters rather than fixed bunkers. A Facebook post on Sunray capabilities says the laser is meant to move where it is needed, so the real challenge is being in the right place when a wave of drones appears on radar.
From prototype to rapid deployment
Ukraine is not treating Sunray as a distant research project. Officials say the country is racing to deploy the laser to counter Russian terror attacks that rely on waves of drones aimed at cities and infrastructure, as described in reports on Sunray deployment. Ukrainian engineers and military personnel have already shown journalists a prototype air defense system called Sunray, capable of shooting down drones, giving the public an early look at how the weapon might be used in the field, according to a detailed description of the prototype system. Another post on recent tests says Ukrainian engineers have developed and successfully tested the new laser-based air defense system, which suggests that at least early technical hurdles have been cleared.
There is also a sense of urgency around protecting critical infrastructure. One account notes that nuclear power stations had temporarily reduced output to maintain grid stability during intense Russian attacks, a sign of how close strikes have come to key sites, according to a report on grid stability. Some coverage of the project also notes that Ukraine has developed a new laser-based air defense system known as Sunray, according to an American magazine that first described it, which shows how quickly a once-secret project has moved into public view, as mentioned in a summary of Sunray development. Those reports say the laser is meant to help defend cities, power plants and other sites that Russia hits again and again.
Part of a wider laser and drone arsenal
Sunray is not Ukraine’s only experiment with directed energy. Earlier, Ukraine demonstrated its Tryzub laser weapon system for the first time, showcasing a prototype that can intercept drones and, according to one report, also target missiles and aircraft, as described in coverage of the Tryzub project. A separate account says Ukraine has just shown a brand-new Trident laser weapon, capable of taking down aircraft from over a mile away, which suggests a family of related projects aimed at different ranges and target types, as reported in a piece on the Trident system. Together, these projects point to a broader plan in which Sunray handles low, slow drones while other beams reach higher and farther.
Lasers are also appearing in other conflicts. An Israeli system called Light Blade was developed by OptiDefense to counter terrorist threats such as mini UAVs and explosives, a sign that directed energy is becoming a common answer to cheap aerial threats, as described in a summary of modern laser weapons. Sunray is Ukraine’s version of that idea, adapted to Russian drones instead of rockets from Gaza. The pattern is clear: countries facing frequent, low-cost attacks are turning to lasers because they promise many shots for little money, even if each system still faces technical limits in bad weather or heavy smoke.
Fitting Sunray into Ukraine’s layered air shield
Ukraine is rapidly developing its own air defense systems, including a laser weapon called Sunray, as part of a broader effort to keep pace with Russian attacks, according to a detailed online summary. At the same time, Ukrainian forces are fielding intercept drones, such as the General Chereshnya model, which has outpaced other drones in the national arsenal and become a key tool in the country’s layered air defense system, as reported by Defense Express. In this scheme, missiles handle high-end threats, drones chase incoming UAVs at medium range, and lasers like Sunray guard the last stretch before a target.
Reports on Sunray’s role say the system is compact enough to move where it is needed, which likely means placing lasers near key power stations, rail hubs and command centers, while drones like General Chereshnya chase incoming UAVs farther out. Analysts expect Ukrainian planners to treat Sunray as a “last 10 kilometers” tool, finishing off drones that survive earlier layers of defense and helping conserve scarce missiles for cruise missiles and ballistic threats. If even one Sunray unit can shoot down several drones in a night without reloading, the cost per intercepted target could drop sharply.
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*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
