Russia Prepares Laser Base to Target Satellites

As Russia has seen the effectiveness in satellite surveillance tracking their troop movements during the invasion of Ukraine, putting their forces at risk and being exposed to attacks, it is ramping up work on a laser to counter it.

The project known as Kalina is a ground-based laser that is intended to blur imaging satellites, The Space Review reported.

The report found evidence of once-stalled construction of a space surveillance complex picking up as of late in Russia's North Caucasus.

The laser will have range over foreign satellite imaging and optical systems flying over Russian territory, according to the report.

The project had started in 2011, according to documents from Russian government, but the surveillance of the project had showed progress had stalled and suffered numerous delays in recent years, according to the report.

The report noted Google Earth imagery shows construction has resumed of late.

Russia has had a mobile laser dazzler know as Peresvet in operation since late 2019, according to the report, but his Kalina complex is more robust.

"Peresvet's anti-satellite role was recently confirmed in a presentation given by Yuri Borisov, Russia's deputy prime minister for the defense industry," according to The Space Review. "He said it can 'blind' all reconnaissance satellites of 'the likely adversary' up to an altitude of 1,500 kilometers, 'disabling' them as they pass over Russian territory.

"In literature on laser ASAT systems, a distinction is made between 'dazzling' and 'blinding.' Dazzling causes sensors to temporarily lose their imaging capability by swamping them with light that is brighter than what they are trying to image. Blinding inflicts permanent damage to such systems. Borisov's wording would suggest that Peresvet is intended to do the latter, but perhaps his use of the verb should not be interpreted too literally."

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