China's ‘Silent Hunter' laser gun shooting down Ukrainian drones
Russia has been using a Chinese-made laser to shoot down Ukrainian drones despite persistent claims from Beijing it is not offering military support to Moscow.
New footage shows Russian troops operating the Silent Hunter Low-Altitude Laser Defence System, and taking out Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) nearly a mile away.
The weapon would be one of the most significant and sophisticated pieces of equipment that Russia has obtained from China during the three-year war on Ukraine.
Designed to search for, track and take down enemy drones, the laser can be mounted on top of an SUV and operated from within the vehicle.
From there, it can detect targets 3.1 miles away, blind them at two miles away and shoot them down when they are a mile out.
The 30-kilowatt laser can pierce a 5mm-thick steel plate 1,000m away. It takes just eight seconds between locking onto a target and bringing it down.
In a video shared on Russian Telegram channels, the laser is seen slowly emerging from a camouflage net before shooting towards a steel plate in the distance and piercing it with several holes.
The video continues with a split screen of the laser shooting down Ukrainian UAVs.
Ukraine's Vodohrai Telegram channel claimed the drones in the footage were a Shchedryk-type UAV, a Skywalker X8 and a decoy drone known as the Distractor.
The footage suggests the drones were shot down from distances greater than 0.8 miles, according to Ukrainian military news outlet Militarnyi.
The report also claimed the laser is being operated by a mobile air defence team within the 'Kochevnik' special operations group and has been in use in Russia since at least Oct 2024.
The Silent Hunter was developed by the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation and was first put into operation during the G20 summit in Hangzhou, a city in eastern China, in 2016.
The system includes radar and an optical station for detection, tracking and targeting.
An updated version was revealed in 2024 with an extended hard kill range of 3.7 miles and a soft kill range – the distance needed to blind or interfere – of 6.2 miles.
The cost of operating laser weapons is typically less than £10 per shot, which makes them low-cost alternatives to missiles for certain tasks.
In comparison, the British Sea Viper missiles that were shot from HMS Diamond in the Red Sea to take down the Iranian-backed Houthis' drones and missiles cost roughly £1 million each.
Along with Russia, the Silent Hunter is known to be in use in Saudi Arabia and in Iran.
Saudi Arabia has previously deployed the laser system against reconnaissance UAVs used by the Houthi militia in Yemen.
Houthis have Iranian-made Shahed-136 kamikaze drones, which are the same as the ones that Russia has used against Ukraine.
The Silent Hunter was also spotted in Iran in late 2024 during a public sermon by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
It's unclear how many of the laser systems China has manufactured and sold over the years, but so far only one has been reported in use by Russia, becoming the latest in a long list of Chinese equipment allegedly used by Moscow.
Chinese aid for Russia
In April, two Chinese soldiers were captured in Ukraine, fighting alongside Russian forces.
Western intelligence sources said it was unlikely the soldiers were sent directly by China. Russia routinely recruits foreign nationals into its armed forces through irregular means.
In any case, Volodymyr Zelensky said: 'Russia's involvement of China, along with other countries, whether directly or indirectly, in this war in Europe is a clear signal that Putin intends to do anything but end the war. He is looking for ways to continue fighting.'
The US called the capture of Chinese citizens fighting for Russia 'disturbing'.
Mr Zelensky further accused China of supplying Russia with weapons and gunpowder.
A month later, Oleh Ivashchenko, the head of Ukraine's intelligence service, said that Ukraine could 'confirm' that China was providing important materials and equipment to 20 Russian military factories.
According to the agency, at least 80 per cent of the electronics used in Russian drones originated from China. This assessment was backed up by the US state department, which said: 'China is a major enabler of Russia in the war in Ukraine. China provides nearly 80 per cent of the dual-use items Russia needs to sustain the war.'
Beijing denied allegations that it sent weapons and gunpowder claiming that 'China has never provided lethal weapons to any party to the conflict' and 'strictly controls dual-use items'.
The foreign ministry refused to respond to questions about Russia's use of the Silent Hunter over the phone, instead referring The Telegraph to its daily in person press conference.
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