Russia becomes third country in the world to develop unique laser system

The UFL-2M laser system, which is often called the "Tsar Laser" due to its unique technical specifications and power performance, will be fully operational by approximately 2028-2029, Valentin Kostyukov, Director of the Russian Federal Nuclear Center said in an interview with Russia-24 TV channel.

"We have launched the first stage of physical foundations associated with engineering systems," Kostyukov said, admitting that the system will yield results in the next four to five years.

The UFL-2M laser system was developed at the Sarov Nuclear Center. The system is needed for modeling and designing new types of nuclear weapons. It is used to study the processes that occur at the moment of explosion. There are only three countries in the world that have such technology: the United States, France, and Russia.

The planned output power of the UFL-2M laser system amounts to 4.6 MJ, and 2.8 MJ on the target. Other laser systems in other countries — NIF in the USA and LMJ in France — provide energy on the target with a power of 1.8 MJ and 2 MJ, respectively.