China is planning on holding a parade with some of their shiniest military hardware tomorrow and among the offerings is expected to be one of their most powerful secret weapons.
They're hosting Russian dictator Vladimir Putin at the moment and are intending on showing off what an advanced military power they are by parading their shiny new inventions.
Putin is expected to watch the parade alongside Chinese leader Xi Jinping, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, and Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian.
Advert
According to the Telegraph one of the most impressive parts of the parade doesn't look like much at first as it's covered in tarpaulin and mounted on a truck, but it's supposed to be 'the most powerful laser air defence system in the world' according to Chinese propaganda.
Obviously they would say that; admitting your shiny new toy isn't as good as the stuff other militaries have during its grand unveiling would be a smidge embarrassing.
The Telegraph reckons that China will also trundle drones, missiles, and tanks around Tiananmen Square, a place which is no stranger to the presence of tanks.
The whole thing will be closely observed by military analysts hoping to work out whether the weapons China puts on display are legitimate or whether they're just made to look like they work.
Advert
Lasers are playing an increasingly important role in warfare, we're not in the realms of Star Wars where people are shooting each other with lasers (and even in Star Wars it's actually bolts of plasma rather than lasers) but they're becoming increasingly useful.
With drones becoming increasingly prevalent on the modern battlefield a way to zap them out of the skies without firing expensive missiles becomes a very viable alternative.
Cheap drone swarms which require expensive defence systems would put a country under a lot of financial strain in a prolonged conflict, but a laser blast could destroy or blind a drone for a much cheaper cost per shot.
Other countries have been developing laser technology for use on the battlefield.
The UK's DragonFire laser weapon only costs around £10 a shot and can hit a target as small as a £1 coin a kilometre away, allowing it to track small targets and blast them out of the sky in a cost effective barrage which would also serve as adequate concert lighting in a pinch.
Advert
Other laser weapons are in development which may be even less expensive to fire, the more work is done on this technology the more effective they'll become.
Russia has claimed it possesses the laser technology to shoot down drones for years now, though it hasn't helped them take over Ukraine as of yet.
There have already been some diplomatic incidents involving lasers, as earlier this year China had to deny to Germany that it had targeted one of their planes with a laser fired from a ship.
Topics: Army, China, Russia, Technology, Vladimir Putin, World News
Joe Harker