Chinese media have reported that a prototype laser weapon is being tested by the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).
An article published on 5 April on the Sina news website contains several screengrabs taken from footage broadcast by China Central Television (CCTV) showing a trainable optical device mounted on a mobile chassis with a large main lens.
A screengrab from footage aired by CCTV showing what appears to be a prototype laser weapon being tested by the Chinese navy. (Via CCTV )
This is surmounted by two smaller devices, possibly optical and radio frequency ranging and tracking sensors. One of the images also shows an auxiliary trailer that could be used as a mobile generator, as well as Chinese troops nearby in naval uniform.
No definitive information relating to the capability of the system has been disclosed but the Sina report suggests that a truck-mounted variant could form part of a coastal defence battery, and that a shipborne device could be an alternative to the HHQ-10 short-range surface-to-air missile system, implying that the laser-based system may have a range of about 5 km.
China has produced several examples of road-mobile laser weapons. For instance, in late 2017 China released information about a laser weapon system that had successfully destroyed an unmanned aerial vehicle at a range of about 300 m.
That same year Poly Technologies revealed its Silent Hunter fibre-optic laser air-defence system at the IDEX show held in Abu Dhabi, while at Airshow China 2018 China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) unveiled its LW-30 road-mobile, laser weapon system intended for engaging aerial platforms and precision-guided weapons. The LW-30 system was shown mounted on a 6×6 tactical truck.
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